During last Monday’s Dewan Negara meet, deputy Works Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Majid Shirlin confirmed that the special committee formed to oversee hikes in toll rates will soon be submitting its latest update to the Cabinet.
According to The Sun Daily, Rosnah mentioned that the committee consists of members from the Finance Ministry, Works Ministry, Attorney General’s Chambers and the Malaysian Highway Authority. The committee has since had three meetings.
The outcome of these meetings will soon be presented to the Cabinet for a final decision on the expected toll rate hikes to be made. There has been no indication yet of when a conclusion will be reached.
The matter arose in Dewan Negara in light of the expected toll rate hikes for 2016, during which it was reported that up to eight toll concessionaires will be qualified to increase their rates in the coming year.
The highways that may face toll rate hikes in 2016 include the North-South Expressway (PLUS), the Second Link Highway, North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite), Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE), Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS), Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) and the New North Klang Straits Bypass (NNKSB).
During the Dewan Negara meet, Bernama reported that a question was posed by Senator Datuk Seri Syed Ibrahim Kader surrounding the potential abolishment of the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau tolls. Both of these tolls stand among the oldest toll plazas in the country.
Rosnah responded by saying that the government has no plans to abolish either toll, citing that it could cost up to RM2 billion to do so, based on a survey conducted in 2012. She also claimed that abolishing the tolls would result in an increase of traffic on the KESAS highway, with more users targeting non-tolled routes.
She provided some reassurance to the public, reminding it that toll rates for the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau plazas have been unchanged for 10 years now despite PLUS agreement revisions in 2008 and 2011.
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Is it me that misunderstood the meaning where Rosnah countered Datuk Syed Ibrahim’s proposal to abolish Batu 3 and Sg Rasau tolls will INCREASE traffic in KESAS as users will target non-tolled routes? If KESAS implements the toll hike from Jan ’16, why would users use KESAS when Federal is with “abolished” tolls at Batu 3 and Sg Rasau? My logic sense has gone haywire.
LDP nak naik lagi ape la haram?
tak cukup2 ke lagi naik 50 sen tahun ni?! demn!
want naik then naik… no need pattern alot. Giving loyal voters all the hope that it will go down. When we vote, we know what to anticipate. Continue the naik trend. This is what majority of malaysian wants to see.