Kidex hits major roadblock as land acquisition gazette lapses

(The Malay Mail) – Time is running out for the developers of the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) to convince local council officials that the project is viable, following Selangor’s refusal to renew a land acquisition gazette for over 3,700 properties along the route of the proposed highway.

Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Lee Suet Sen said that without the land acquisition gazette which expired last week, the Kidex highway plan would have to be put on hold indefinitely.

“The gazette is meant to freeze land meant for Kidex, without land to build it on, I don’t see how Kidex can go on, at least for now,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

Lee confirmed that Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) had on Wednesday furnished the MBPJ with the updated traffic impact assessment (TIA) and another preliminary environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, but said that it is still not detailed enough for MBPJ to evaluate or call for a briefing on the matter.

“The report does not state whether it is the complete TIA, and the EIA is another preliminary version. The (PJ) mayor has already directed the engineering department to look into the documents,” he explained.

The TIA and EIA are among crucial documents needed for the local authority to approve an amendment to Petaling Jaya’s local city plan to incorporate the highway.

“But nothing much has changed. They (LLM and Kidex Sdn Bhd) still need to convince MBPJ to amend the local plan.

“They also have to also conduct a fresh public hearing on Kidex, and that also has not been done, and added with the fact that public response to the highway has been quite negative,” the MBPJ officer explained.

He pointed out that the “condition precedent” set by the Works Ministry stipulated that public consultation must be obtained by the developer by November this year or else the project will be called off.

“When are they going to do this? Without the land gazette, without meeting MBPJ for a briefing or giving us the documents we need and without positive public feedback, Kidex cannot go on. I don’t know if this will change next month but for now, it does not look good for Kidex,” Lee said.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said last Wednesday that the LLM is ready to meet Selangor federal and state lawmakers to explain the Kidex project.

MB Khalid said he was “informed” that LLM had already furnished the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) with the relevant documents such as the traffic impact assessment (TIA) and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.

He has also said that “efforts” to compulsorily acquire land for the controversial federal project will only continue after the LLM conducts a briefing on the matter with the MBPJ.

“We will not do it until and unless the process is complete,” he told reporters when met at a buka puasa event.

“Based on our observations, and under advice by the LLM, we will only carry on to implement (the land acquisition) once there is positive acceptance among residents towards Kidex,” the Port Klang state assemblyman had said yesterday.

Last week, the Say No To Kidex (SNTK) committee urged Selangor not to renew the land acquisition gazette. The state government had no basis to issue the gazette in the first place as the developer of the expressway has yet to provide any document proving the need for the new highway.

Last month, the 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 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.