Guan Eng: Acquiring toll highways a triple win
PUTRAJAYA: The proposed acquisition of toll highways would be a “triple win” solution for all, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The first of the three “win-winwin solutions” is that commuters would save up to RM180 million a year with the switch from a flat toll rate to congestion charges.
“These savings go straight into the disposable income of Malaysian households,” Lim said.
He said the second “win” was that, with the acquisition of four highways at a fair and reasonable price, taxpayers would be saved from having to pay compensation of about RM5.3 billion to toll concessionaires in terms of toll rate hikes until the end of the respective concession period.
And the final win is the collection of the soon-to-be introduced congestion charge will go towards financing the upgrade and maintenance of the public transport system.
“Collection of the congestion charge will be sufficient to service the debt arising from the acquisition as well as to finance the operation and maintenance costs of the highways without requiring additional budget allocation by the ministry,” said Lim.
Lim said the government expected the acquisition of the four highways would take up to six months to fulfil legal, regulatory and financial requirements.
Upon the successful acquisition of the four highways, he said, the government will abolish the existing toll mechanism and replace it with the congestion charge model.
“Under the new model, the congestion charge follows a variable pricing structure which depends on the time of the day.
“The new model will help to ease traffic congestion during the peak periods, encouraging commuters to plan and shift their commute to less congested hours.
“In doing so, even those travelling at peak hours will enjoy less traffic congestion,” he added.