Govt yet to decide on highway takeover

By THE STAR | 11 August 2020


KUALA LUMPUR: The government has yet to decide on the proposed takeover of four highway concessionaires in the Klang Valley, says Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

"There has been no decision at the Cabinet level. We will discuss it, that is for sure," he said on Tuesday (Aug 11).

Asked about the status of the proposed takeover, Fadillah said there was no timeframe for this, and said that a decision will be announced when it is made.

In December last year, former Finance minister Lim Guan Eng said a decision needed to be made quickly, as the government had to pay compensation to toll operators for freezing toll hikes.

In June of last year, the Ministry of Finance Inc (MOF Inc) announced a planned takeover of the four highways for RM6.2bil.

The four highway 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 Dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (Smart).

Gamuda has stakes in all four companies.

Fadillah spoke to reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Social Security Organisation (Socso)and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) on Tuesday (Aug 11).

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan was also present at the event.

To another question, Fadillah said that the decision to lower the price of tolls at the PLUS highway by 18% and not other highways would change the policy of highway privatisation that was introduced before.

"When Pakatan Harapan decided on the 18%, we had to review it's impact on the overall policy in relation to tolled highways. It will have an impact on other highways, which will keep on increasing. PLUS is permanent at one price.

"What is the impact on the tolls of new highways that are being constructed? What is its impact on the proposals of new highways? "What is the direction we want to take? This is something that has to be discussed and this is a question of policy," he said.

When asked if there was a possibility of the PLUS toll prices being increased, Fadillah said that he could not say anything until the matter was discussed bty Cabinet.

Pakatan had lowered the price of PLUS tolls in February by 18%. The concession on all its highways were extended by 20 years from 2038 to 2058.

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