Increase in toll rates minimal, says Zin
(NST) KUALA LUMPUR: Come Sunday, the toll charges at five major highways will be increased.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed said this was necessary to honour the toll agreements with concession holders.
"We hope road-users will not see this as a burden as the increase is minimal," said Zin.
The highways are Sprint, Ampang Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (Akleh), Sungai Besi (Besraya), the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) and several stretches run by PLUS Expressways Berhad.
The increase for the PLUS highways, by 0.68 sen per kilometre, involves Federal Highway Route 2, linking Batu Tiga in Shah Alam and Sungai Rasau in Klang, New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), linking Jalan Duta and Bukit Raja, and the North-South Expressway.
Zin said users of the 34km NKVE will need to pay only RM4.90, a hike of 30 sen.
For the Sprint highways, Kerinchi Link and Damansara Link, the increase is 50 sen and 30 sen respectively.
Toll rates on Akleh will be increased by 50 sen, Besraya by 10 sen and NPE by 40 sen.
Zin said some alternative routes were also ready for use and work to expand the roads was going on.
He, however, admitted that they would not be able to solve traffic congestion in the city.
"We hope the infrastructure can help disperse large traffic volumes but the argument here should be on improving our public transport.
"Road-users in Klang Valley number close to 3.5 million for a population of five million.
"The vehicles here are double the number compared with Tokyo which only has 1.3 million on the road for a population of 20 million," he said.
On whether the toll increase was politically motivated as the announcement came after the recent abolition of two other tolls, Zin simply said: "Don't blame politics.
"If you want to politicise the issue then go ahead but I'm the minister in charge of this, so I have to make the announcement."
The Salak Jaya toll (south-bound) on Besraya was abolished on Tuesday while the toll at Petaling Jaya Selatan 2 (Kuala Lumpur-bound) on the NPE was abolished on Feb 13.
He said the government had to pay RM245 million to concession holders in compensation due to the delay in hikes.
The terms of the agreement stated that PLUS was allowed to increase toll rates once every three years but high inflation prompted the authorities to delay the increase since Jan 1 last year.
PLUS last raised toll rates in 2005. Sprint and Akleh rates had not been increased since operations began in 2001.
PLUS will get RM177 million, Sprint RM38 million and Akleh RM30 million.
