Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng claims that the take over of four major highways in the Klang Valley would save the taxpayers RM5.3 billion in compensation to the concessionaires, according to The Star.
The four highways, under the interests of Gamuda, include the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), Konsortium Expressway Shah Alam Selangor (KESAS), SMART tunnel and the Sprint highway.
Upon acquisition of these highways, subject to the Cabinet’s approval, the long-awaited congestion charge model will replace the existing toll structure.
Lim said the collection from the congestion charges would be enough to service the debt from the acquisition while also covering the operation and maintenance cost of the highways.
In a move to ease the burden of commuters and fulfill the ruling governments pre-election promises, Lim said the commuters stand to save more than RM100 million per annum from this initiative. As it stands, the market share of the four highways based on toll revenue is at around 48%.
In total, the Government has launched a RM6.2 billion bid to acquire the four highways, through a dedicated company under the watch of the Ministry of Finance.
