MB: Selangor won’t renew land acquisition gazette for Kidex expressway
(Malay Mail Online) – The Selangor government will not renew a land acquisition gazette for over 3,700 properties along the entire stretch of the proposed Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today.
The Selangor mentri besar said “efforts” to compulsorily acquire land for the controversial federal project will only continue after the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) conducts a briefing on the matter with the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
“We will not do it until and unless the process is complete,” he told reporters when met at a buka puasa event here.
Khalid added that he had been “advised” by the LLM to do so as several preconditions have yet to met by the developer Kidex Sdn Bhd.
“Based on our observation, and under advice by the LLM, we will only carry on to implement (the land acquisition) once there positive acceptance among residents towards Kidex,” the Port Klang state assemblyman explained.
The Say No To Kidex (SNTK) committee had on Friday urged Selangor not to renew the land acquisition gazette, as the state government had no basis to issue the gazette in the first place because the Kidex developer has yet to provide any document proving the need for the new highway.
Last month, the Petaling Jaya city council (MBPJ) revealed that the Kidex project had been rejected on three occasions as the developer had failed to provide sufficient details, including its final Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) report.
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 MBPJ’s rejection of the project, the SNTK committee claimed that the state government had potentially issued an illegal gazette as neither the TIA, environmental impact assessment (EIA) or socio-economic assessment reports had been submitted to determine if the highway actually met requirements for the government to take over privately-owned land.
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.
