Concessionaires hope govt will finalise takeover of 4 highways by March

by BERNAMA / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

THE concessionaires of four highways in the Klang Valley hope the government will be able to make a decision on the takeover of the highway concessions latest by end-March this year.

Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd and Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (Sprint) CEO Sazally Saidi said this was because the discussions on the takeover are still ongoing without a final decision from the government.

“For the takeover process, discussions between the shareholders of the highway concessions and the government are still ongoing, however, there’s no answer yet (from the government) until now.

“We hope all the discussions would be finalised by end-March this year,” he said to reporters after presenting contributions in the form of necessities in conjunction with the Chinese New Year (CNY) this Saturday to the senior citizens of Rumah Sejahtera, Jenjarom, yesterday. Present were Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) COO Mohammed Shah Samin and Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (Smart) acting COO Mohd Noor Mohd Ali.

Sazally said this when asked to comment on the developments relating to the takeover of the four highway concessions, namely Kesas, Smart, Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Sprint announced by the government last year.

The government through the Minister of Finance Inc (MoF Inc) last year presented takeover offers to the four concessionaires of the highways for RM6.2 billion in an effort to lighten the burden of the people via toll reduction.

The breakdown of the offer prices are LDP for RM2.47 billion, Sprint (RM1.98 billion); Kesas (RM1.38 billion) and Smart for RM369 million. — Bernama