12 HIGHWAY CONCESSIONS RECORDED LOSSES LAST YEAR, DEWAN RAKYAT TOLD

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- A total of 12 out of 33 highway concessions recorded losses due to insufficient traffic volumes based on last year’s financial reports, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Maslan said they were the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Maju Expressway (MEX), KL-Karak Expressway (KLK), Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway (LKSA), Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH) and Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE).

The South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway (SPE), Kajang-Seremban Highway (LEKAS), Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway (SUKE), Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART), West Coast Expressway (WCE) and the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (LLB).

“So anyone proposing the construction of a new highway must make proper calculations. If the traffic volume is inadequate, there is no guarantee it will be profitable.

“If it is not profitable, the government may end up having to bear the losses should it need to take over,” he said when replying to a supplementary question from Zahir Hassan (PH-Wangsa Maju).

Meanwhile, on the highway stretch from the Bandar Baharu Toll Plaza to Sungai Petani that has yet to be implemented, Ahmad Maslan said the proposed upgrading project had been submitted but not approved.

“The reason it was not approved usually relates to prioritisation. The highway is actually part of the proposed Northern Corridor Highway (NCH). Initially, the project was proposed from Taiping to Bukit Kayu Hitam, but it was found to be not viable.

“Therefore, the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) under the Prime Minister’s Department proposed a Taiping-Sungai Petani alignment instead. It is currently at the request-for-proposal (RFP) stage,” he said.

-- BERNAMA