Private car users would have faced steep toll hike without postponement, Dewan Rakyat told

The Star

4 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Private car users would have faced a toll increase of 79% to 83% at 10 highways nationwide if the hike had not been postponed, says Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
The Works Minister said the rates would range between RM0.50 and RM4.56 for private cars or Class 1 vehicles, amounting to about RM136 monthly or RM1,632 annually.
He said the projections were based on a private car user travelling on the tolled roads concerned for 20 days a month or 240 days annually.
'If there had been no postponement, road users would have felt a significant impact.
"We hope that the postponement can at least ease the cost of living burden, especially for those who use tolled roads daily,' he said during Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (July 29).
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The 10 highways are the Cheras-Kajang Expressway (Grandsaga), Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway (Latar), New North Klang Straits Bypass (NNKSB), Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE), East Coast Expressway Phase 2 (LPT2), South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge (JSAHMS), Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE), Maju Expressway (MEX) and the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (LLB).
Nanta said the toll hike postponement will involve all vehicles ranging from Class 1 to Class 5, except on the LLB.
He said the toll hike postponement for the LLB only applies to Class 5 vehicles, as Classes 1 to 4 have already reached the maximum toll increase rates allowed under the concession agreement.
In Malaysia, Class 1 generally refers to private cars, Class 2 to vans and light goods vehicles, Class 3 to heavy vehicles with three or more axles, Class 4 to taxis, and Class 5 to buses.
'Some 941,000 motorists are set to benefit from the postponed toll rate hike,' he said.
He added that the government will also have to pay an estimated compensation of RM568.92mil annually because of the postponement.
'However, the actual compensation to be paid by the government depends on the actual traffic volume, with verification by operational audits by both the government and concessionaires,' he said.
Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (BN-Pekan) had asked about the implications of the government postponing toll rate hikes for this year.
On July 23, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the postponement of toll hikes for 10 highways that were scheduled to take effect this year.