Toll Price Increased

New toll rates

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is sharing the burden of the public by subsidising the toll increase for five expressways.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu said, for example, the Government was paying 50 sen for every passenger car passing through the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) toll plaza.

“Although the toll will be increased by 60 sen from Jan 1 next year, the Government will still be subsidising 50 sen,” he told a press conference at his office here yesterday.

He also announced the toll increase for the Cheras-Kajang (or Grand Saga) Highway, Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway, Guthrie Corridor Expressway and Kesas (or Shah Alam) Expressway during the press conference.

Samy Vellu said the Government had paid RM479.7mil in toll subsidy in the past six years.



The Government, he added, had restructured the concession agreements with the concessionaires of the Shah Alam Highway, Cheras-Kajang Highway, Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway and Guthrie Corridor Highway in 2002.

This had resulted in a sharp reduction in compensation paid to the companies.

He said with the restructured concession agreements, the number of toll increases for the Shah Alam Expressway had been reduced from 12 to five, and it was being compensated RM371.8mil.

The number of increases for the Cheras-Kajang Highway, he said, had been reduced from seven to four with RM226mil compensation.

As for the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway, the number of increases had been reduced from 13 to six with a compensation of RM1.197bil.

On the LDP, Samy Vellu said concessionaire Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd had the right to set the toll at RM2.10 for private cars from 2007 to 2010, when another increase was due.

However, the Government had decided to allow an increase from RM1 to RM1.60, with the 50 sen shortfall being paid through subsidy.

“We will pay RM75mil next year and another RM75mil in 2008 in compensation. We will also allow the company to extend its 30-year concession for another year in lieu of compensation for the remaining two years,” he said.

The extension is estimated at RM164 mil.

Samy Vellu said toll rates in Malaysia were one of the cheapest in the world, with PLUS charging an average of 13.6 sen per km, compared with 35.57 sen per km in the Philippines, 27.62 sen in China, 22.76 sen in Thailand and 14.8 sen in Indonesia.

P/S :- Crap! Now I have to reallocate my budget when I move to KL. Tsk!