Four highways entitled to toll hikes next year

GEORGE TOWN: Four highways are entitled to toll hikes next year according to Works Minister Datuk Fadilah Yusof.
The four highways are the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL), Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas), Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE) and Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE).
Chief Minister and Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng said this was revealed in a written parliamentary reply to him during the Tuesday proceedings.
In his reply, Lim said Fadilah mentioned the federal government had to pay RM59.77 million in compensation for the four if the hikes were deferred.
“As the 2017 Budget did not provide for any toll compensation payments, ordinary Malaysians will have to bear the full brunt of the toll hikes,” he said in a statement today.
Lim said Malaysians should be allowed to use the North-South Expressway (NSE) free of charge as the capital outlay to build the highway has since been recoup.
He said the reply by Fadilah showed toll collected on the NSE totalled RM36.39 billion until 2015 after the highway was completed in 1994 at a cost of RM5.9 billion.
“Even if we consider Fadillah’s explanation of the concessionaire having to spend 45% to 50 % of their earnings for loan repayment, overheads and operations (20%), and for repairs and upgrading (15% to 20 %), they have fully realised their capital investment,” he said.