Singapore decided to extend the suspension of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project from Johor Bahru to Singapore to 31 July 2020.

Minister of Transport Khaw Boon Wan of the Republic said at the request of Malaysia "We decided to extend the suspension for a third and final time."

Khaw stated that, since 1 April 2019, the RTS Link Project has been suspended to allow Malaysia to review the project and recommend changes to Singapore for consideration.

"Active bilateral discussions have been held over the months on the changes that Malaysia proposed. A number of events, including government change in Malaysia, affected the pace.

The Minister said in a Facebook update that COVID-19 threw a new spanner in the works.

Khaw said he had asked the teams, the transport ministry, the Land Transport Authority, and SMRT Corp to collaborate with their Malaysian counterparts to finish discussions quickly.

"Thankfully, technology is available, but nothing replaces face to face conversation, for us to discuss and negotiate. Yet this is an unavoidable period, it can't be stopped!" he said.

Khaw said that he is looking forward to the signing of the three agreements that allows the RTS connection project to reboot with his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Dr. Wee Ka Siong.