EPU chief: Why pacts with highway operators are lopsided

(TheStar) – THE Government was forced to become guarantor for highway concessionaires in the 1980s and 1990s because banks refused to give out loans to the companies then, Economic Planning Unit director-general Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob said.

He was quoted by Sin Chew Daily as saying that this may have led to the agreements between the Government and concessionaires to be lopsided.

He said for the banks to provide loans to the concessionaires, the Government had to give a guarantee that there would be a certain number of vehicles using the highways.

Otherwise, the Government would have to pay some compensation, he said.

Sulaiman noted that it was because the Government had agreed to stand as guarantor for the concessionaires, that the people could enjoy using highways in the country now.