Highway concessionaires to make agreements public

KUALA LUMPUR: All highway concessionaires, except for one, have agreed to make their concession agreements public.

Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said only Maju Expressway, the concessionaire for the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Highway, had “yet to agree” on making its agreement public.

He said on Oct 17, the Cabinet had agreed to declassify the agreements, but a non-disclosure clause in them meant that the Government had to obtain the consent of the concessionaires before making them public.

Asked if a deadline had been set for Maju Expressway to give its consent, he said the Government cannot force the company if it did not wish to publicise its concession agreement “as the Government cannot act unilaterally in this case”.

Mohd Zin said he hoped to have the agreements published for public viewing by Jan 1 next year.

He was speaking after launching PLUS Expressways Berhad travel incentive programme, which offered discounted toll rates at off-peak hours.

He hoped concessionaires would reduce their toll rates voluntarily like PLUS, whose programme is a corporate social responsibility and did not involve cash compensation or an extension to its concession agreement.

He said the revision of toll rates by PLUS was a result of a study conducted by the Highway Authority of Malaysia, which also found eight other concessionaires unable to reduce toll rates because they encountered low traffic volume, cash flow problems, restructured their loans, just started operations, or have their concession agreement expiring next year.

The highways are New Pantai Expressway, Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK), SPRINT Highway, Shah Alam-Kuang Expressway, SMART Tunnel, KL-Putrajaya Highway, North Klang Straits Bypass Expressway and New North Klang Straits Bypass Expressway.

Mohd Zin said the remaining 15 concessionaires were financially capable of reducing their toll rates, but the Government cannot force them to do so without having to pay compensation due to the terms in the concession agreements.

“If a cash compensation is not given, the concessionaires will not be able to repay their loans and interests on the issued bonds. This will directly affect the bond market, and the stocks of these companies on Bursa Malaysia will be affected,” he said.

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