PETALING JAYA: Highway concessionaires which fail to use the Touch 'n Go electronic toll system next month will face stern action, warns Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
“We will not hesitate to revoke the approvals for them to use the other toll collection cards,” he said when contacted.
Samy Vellu said the concessionaires had been given ample time to implement the single toll collection system.
“We have been very lenient with them. But now they must adhere with the government's decision,” he said.
The operator of Touch 'n Go, Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd (RSSB), said several toll expressways would not have adopted the system by June 1.
“We are working towards making that deadline but not every single concessionaire will get it up by the deadline,” RSSB chief operating officer Swinder Grewal said when contacted by telephone.
She, however, said “the situation today is much more positive compared to last year.”
Many expressway concessionaires which had not adopted the Touch 'n Go system were unhappy with the ministry's decision that all electronic toll collection be done through that system by June 1.
She said negotiations were still ongoing with seven of the eight expressway concessionaires which were not part of the Touch 'n Go system.
“The talks are at different stages depending on the concessionaires, some of them faster than others,” she said, adding that some of the equipment would take time to be delivered.
The seven companies are Lingkaran Trans Kota Bhd (which operates the Damansara-Puchong Expressway), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (Sprint), Grand Saga Sdn Bhd (Cheras-Kajang Highway), Kesas Sdn Bhd (Shah Alam Expressway), MTD Capital Sdn Bhd (Karak Highway), Shapadu Sdn Bhd (North Klang Straits Bypass) and Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim Sdn Bhd.
The eighth privatised expressway is the Seremban-Port Dickson Expressway which is operated by SPDH Sdn Bhd. The company is currently under receivership.
Swinder said an agreement was inked with Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim last Monday, while Shapadu had verbally agreed to adopt the system.
A source familiar with the negotiating process with several of the concessionaires said an agreement could not be reached because of financial and cost issues, including the question of how much commission concessionaires have to pay RSSB.
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