Kidex given 48-year concession by Putrajaya, says Works Ministry
(Malay Mail Online) – The federal government has signed a 48-year concession agreement with the developer of the super-elevated Kinrara-Damansara (Kidex) highway, the Works Ministry said today.
In a written Parliamentary reply to DAP Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, Works Minister Datuk Fadhillah Yusof said the agreement was signed last year but that the toll rates for the RM2.42 billion highway has yet to be determined.
“The government has agreed and signed the concession agreement on Kidex on November 15, 2013 for a concession period of 48 years,” said Fadhillah in the reply.
Gobind Singh Deo told The Malay Mail Online that the duration of the concession was shocking.
“The toll rates were not mentioned but what is shocking is that the concession agreement is for 48 years,” Gobind Singh Deo told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.
Gobind had asked Fadhillah for the planned toll rates and the alignment route.
But the reply did not disclose the planned toll rates for Kidex, with Fadhillah saying it was “too soon” for the government to disclose the information.
The minister also said that Kidex Sdn Bhd needed to fulfil a condition precedent for the concession agreement to take full effect.
The Kidex project has been rejected on three occasions by the city council as developers had failed to provide sufficient details.
Under Section 18 of the Town Country and Planning Act (TCPA), construction cannot start unless the highway fits with MBPJ’s plans.
Kidex is currently not incorporated into the council’s blueprint for Petaling Jaya city.
Despite the growing opposition, mounting evidence in the form of replies in Parliament and the state legislative assembly indicate that the project is set to proceed.
Among the areas that could be affected by the project are Tropicana Mall, SS2 Mall, Rothman’s traffic lights, Section 14, Amcorp Mall, Hilton Petaling Jaya, Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital, Jalan Templer roundabout, Taman Datuk Harun, Taman Medan Baru and Bandar Kinrara.
Construction of the multi-billion ringgit highway could begin as soon as next year and be completed by 2018.
