KUALA LUMPUR: Congestion charges or environmental fees for vehicles entering Kuala Lumpur will only be considered after a comprehensive public transportation network is readily available, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
"A traffic congestion fee - also known as an environmental fee - is a trend for mega cities. For example, in London, it is imposed on vehicles entering the city with exceptions given for electric vehicles or Evs,” said Dr. Wee.
He added that his Ministry will also look at matters such as the restructuring of parking fees in the city.
"However, this will only be done once the public transportation network in the city is fully completed after 2030," the Transport Minister said when answering a supplementary question raised by Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai) in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 15).
He noted that environmental fees imposed on vehicles entering the city was not solely to address traffic congestion but also environmental concerns.
To a question by Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut), Dr Wee said that public engagement on the project for the MRT 3 line will be held this coming July.
"The engagement period will cover a two-month period for us to gather public feedback.
"It will not be a problem if readjustments or changes are to be made," he said.
He assured Yeoh that the engagement process would not be cosmetic in nature as there were always engineering solutions that could resolve technical issues with the proposed MRT 3 route.
Yeoh raised concerns over the proposed MRT 3 which had seen protest from residents in the Sri Hartamas area.
Earlier, Dr Wee informed the House that 39km out of the 51km MRT 3 line will run along the perimeter of Kuala Lumpur while 12km will run in Selangor.
He acknowledged that the line would intersect populated areas such as in Ampang Jaya.
He said the network will also intersect existing MRT 1 and 2 lines as well as the monorail and KTM Komuter.
The MRT 3 project, he added, will see 10 new interchange stations built to ensure continuity and an efficient transportation network for the Klang Valley.
"80% of the entire route will be elevated while 20% will be underground," he added.
Dr Wee said that tenders for the five main packages for the MRT 3 project will be called for this year.
He said works under these packages will cover between six to eight years and are expected to be completed in phases by 2028.
He added that the entire MRT 3 project was expected to be completed and fully operational by 2030.
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