KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly one million users are expected to feel a significant impact following the postponement of toll rate hikes at 10 highways, due to a substantial gap between the current toll rates paid by users and the rates stipulated in concession agreements.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the quantum of increase for Class 1 vehicles, as set out in the concession agreements for the 10 affected highways, ranges between 50 sen and RM4.56, equivalent to a 79 to 83 per cent hike.
For instance, he said Class 1 vehicle users passing through the Kuala Lumpur–Putrajaya Expressway (MEX) Toll Plaza will save RM6.80 for a round trip.
This is because the toll rate under the concession agreement for 2025 is RM6.90, but the current toll rate is being maintained at RM3.50 per one-way trip, he added.
“If this saving is multiplied over 20 days, or a typical month’s usage, or 240 days in a year, the user will save RM136 a month or RM1,632 annually,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (BN–Pekan) on the implications for highway users if the government had not postponed the toll rate increase for 2025.
On July 23, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in an ‘announcement of appreciation for Malaysians’, said the government had agreed to postpone the toll rate hikes for 10 highways so that the public could continue to enjoy existing rates.
The affected highways include the MEX Expressway, South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Senai–Desaru Expressway (SDE), Duta–Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE) and Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway (LATAR).
Meanwhile, to a supplementary question from Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (PN–Besut), who asked why tolls in Malaysia are not abolished altogether, Nanta said it is not easy to abolish tolls, as the government would need substantial funding, including for maintenance works, which could run into billions of ringgit.
He said such funds could otherwise be channelled to other purposes, including for the people in states without highways.
“However, once the concession companies have reached their return on investment (ROI), the current toll rates, which are said to be burdensome, can be reduced. That would be a more practical and realistic approach,” he said. - Bernama
