KUALA LUMPUR: More than RM10bil has been spent on federal road maintenance and repairs over the past five years, says Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He said RM1.1bil was spent in 2022, RM1.7bil in 2023, RM2.3bil in 2024, RM2.9bil in 2025, and RM2.6bil so far this year.
“This includes routine maintenance works and related works to ensure federal roads are always safe for use among motorists,” he said during question time in Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
He said factors such as the increasing traffic flow and overloaded heavy vehicles are among the main causes of damage to federal roads.
According to the deputy minister, the poor quality of paving and patching works on federal roads by utility contractors have also resulted in additional work having to be carried out.
“The repair and maintenance of federal roads are carried out in accordance with existing guidelines, with the aim of improving the quality of the work and extending the roads’ lifespan,” he said.
For stretches with structural damage, he said major works such as reconstruction and partial reconstruction works are carried out.
“Various tests are carried out on the site to identify the best steps needed in line with the damage,” he said, adding that audits are also carried out on asphalt production plants supplying materials for federal roads.
He was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (PH-Port Dickson) who asked about the total allocation spent to repair recurring damage on federal roads, its main causes, as well as the ministry’s mechanism to ensure periodic maintenance works address the root cause of the damage.
Separately, Aminuddin also asked whether the ministry intends to expand the use of solar-powered LED lights at selected locations to reduce vandalism while improving road safety.
To this, Ahmad said 3,000 solar-powered lights have been installed at highway blackspots.
“This reduces our costs and we will continue with this in the coming years,” he said, adding that RM48mil has been allocated for streetlight and traffic light maintenance next year.
