The government says that business negotiations among stakeholders regarding the implementation of the multi-lane fast flow (MLFF) tolling system were in their advanced stages, but a final agreement had yet to be reached, the New Straits Times reports.
According to works minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, aligning 34 concessionaires to be on the same page was a challenge, unlike in countries where a single body controlled the entire highway network. However, he said the government was not going to interfere in discussions between the highway concessionaires.
“It is a business-to-business model, meaning there is very little government intervention or participation in that. We allow people who are in this business to get together, to work things out, and come out with the best system and for the best pricing,” he told the publication.
He added that the only condition laid out by the government was with regards to pricing, that road users must not be made to pay more for toll. “This is important because the system can be very good, but if we have to charge higher toll, then it’s no good for us because we do not want our road users to be burdened with higher cost,” he explained.
Nanta said that, ultimately, the goal for MLFF was to have a single, seamless system that road users could utilise without confusion, regardless of which highway they used. “What we want is for road users to not be burdened by a fragmented system. They (the concessionaires) must have one complete system, fully integrated, so that road users can use it seamlessly. But it’s not easy for us to tell them to adopt one system. They have to agree among themselves,” he said.
He added that not all concessionaires would necessarily come on board, as some highway alignments might not require the system.
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