JOHOR BAHRU (Jan 10): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is meeting his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday, a meeting which can be described as another milestone in bilateral relationship, as they affirm commitments to two megaprojects.

Both leaders would have a busy schedule on Thursday, as they attend two high-level functions, of which both countries have vested interests in.

In the morning, they are scheduled to visit the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project here, where both leaders would get an update on the progress of the billion-ringgit project.

The RTS Link project is a railway shuttle link of about 4km with two stations, one in Bukit Chagar, Johor Bahru, and another in Woodlands North, Singapore.

Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) has been tasked with developing the 2.7km Malaysian portion of the rail link and the requisite structures, while the operations are slated to be undertaken jointly by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and its Singaporean counterpart SMRT Corp Ltd.

Once completed, the RTS Link would be the third land bridge to Singapore, and could likely ease some of the “headache” of the “infamous” traffic legacy or congestion at the Johor Causeway.

After the RTS visit, Anwar and Lee would then proceed to another event to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Johor-Singapore special economic zone.

The idea was first mooted by Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli after a meeting with the Johor government in Iskandar Puteri in May last year, and then the two countries agreed to take a step further by setting up a special task force to study the establishment of the special economic zone in July.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi welcomed this idea, saying the “success” of the economic zone can lead it to flourish like the Chinese city of Shenzhen, which has transformed from a small city of 300,000 people to a high-tech international metropolis of over 17 million people after four decades.

For 2022, it was reported that Johor secured RM70.6 billion worth of foreign investment in various sectors.

Singapore was reported as the state’s second-largest foreign investor, contributing to around 70% of foreign direct investment in Johor's manufacturing sector.

Thus, the creation of the new economic zone could further boost cross-border trade and business activities not only between Malaysia and Singapore, but making it an attractive spot in the Asian region, it was reported.