PUTRAJAYA: Cabinet is expected to decide on the takeover of PLUS Malaysia Bhd and four other highway concessionaires next week, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He said a decision must be made soon so that the government can avoid paying more in compensation.
“The Cabinet is likely to make a decision next week. We have already announced the freeze of toll hikes for this year and the government has to pay compensation to toll operators.
“We need to come up with a decision on this quickly or else the clock will be ticking and the compensation will continue to increase, ” he told reporters after closing the Putrajaya Lift Festival 2019 today.
He said this was requested by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to ensure a proper review of the information before a decision is made.
PLUS is the largest highway concessionaire in the country, operating eight expressways under five concessions.
Its highways are the 772-km North-South Expressway which runs from Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah near the Malaysia-Thai border to Johor Baru; the New Klang Valley Expressway; Federal Highway Route 2; the Seremban-Port Dickson Highway; the NSE Central Link’ the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link; Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim and the Penang Bridge.
Its concession will expire in December 2038.
The government is also expected to decide on the way forward for four highway concessionaires under Gamuda Bhd.
They concessionaires are Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd (Litrak), Kesas Sdn Bhd, Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Holdings Sdn Bhd (Sprint) and Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir and Terowong Sdn Bhd (Smart).
Gamuda has stakes in all companies and the Ministry of Finance Inc announced in June a plan to take over four highways in the Klang Valley for RM6.2bil.
