Posted on 16 February 2015 - 04:20pm
Last updated on 17 February 2015 - 02:12am
Last updated on 17 February 2015 - 02:12am
PETALING JAYA: In what may arguably be a first in Malaysia's history, a federal highway project has been cancelled by a state government.
The Selangor State Government in a statement issued said that it had decided to cancel the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) due to the concessionaire's failure to meet three conditions by Feb 14 as set by his administration.
In outlining the conditions, Selangor Mentri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said the Kidex Sdn Bhd, the concessionaire, had failed to meet the following conditions:
(i) Conduct Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA), Social Impact Assessment (SIA), and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to prove that the project is beneficial to residents in affected areas;
(ii) Reveal toll rates and return on investment; and
(iii) Fully disclose the concession agreement for transparency.
"The state government had informed Kidex to fulfil the three conditions before Feb 14, and since none of the conditions have been met, we are cancelling the project," Azmin said.
He said the conditions were set based on public feedback and noted that any highway construction in the state will have to be beneficial not only to highway users, but also to residents living in affected areas.
Azmin added that all future highway projects in the state will be considered using similar parameters.
Kidex Sdn Bhd was given a nine-month extension by the Federal government on Saturday, pushing the concession agreement's expiry date to Nov 14.
The Petaling Jaya City Council had also commissioned an independent report conducted by MDS Traffic Planners and Consultants (MDS), who found Kidex to be poorly planned and its benefits to the people of Petaling Jaya doubtful.
Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian said he applauds the decision made by Azmin on the project's cancellation.
Hee added the Selangor mentri besar had met and listened to the views of the parties connected to Kidex.
"He (Azmin) had laid down three simple terms but the concessionaire was unwilling to fulfil those terms. The decision to cancel this project shows that Selangor has an executive who has shown exemplary leadership by being both fair and firm," Hee said in a statement.
Mak Khuin Weng, press secretary of the Say No To Kidex (SNTK) group, said he is grateful for the move made by the Mentri Besar.
However, he is cautiously optimistic as a meeting between the Selangor government and the concessionaire to discuss the highway project has been scheduled for March 10.
"I'm hoping that the Mentri Besar will cancel the meeting, otherwise the meeting and the Kidex cancellation will be contradictory," Mak said.
Attempts to get comments from Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof were futile at this time.
Meanwhile, in a statement today, Kidex said it was waiting for feedback from the federal government over the project's cancellation as Putrajaya was a party to the concession agreement.
"We will also continue with our engagement with the state government," the concessionaire added.
With an estimated cost of RM2.42 billion the proposed highway was expected to reduce 30% of traffic in Petaling Jaya.
The proposed Kidex highway would have spanned 14.9KM starting from the Damansara toll plaza, on the New Klang Valley Expressway, and would have passed through Petaling Jaya and Puchong, before linking up to the Bukit Jalil Highway
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