Nazri lauds Maju Holdings’ toll offer if it acquires PLUS

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has given his thumbs up to the offer made by Maju Holdings that it will not raise toll rates for 20 years if it is successful in acquiring PLUShighway.

Describing it as ‘durian runtuh’ (huge windfall), the Tourism and Culture Minister said the Government found it difficult to pay compensation to highway concessionaires following its decision not to raise toll rates.

“Every time the Government discusses toll hikes, there will be a big problem. We will have to think about the rakyat. With a proposal like this, the Government would be able to save almost RM1bil and use it to benefit the people,” he said at the ministry’s programme in Muzium Negara, yesterday.

Nazri was asked to respond to the RM36bil proposal made by Maju Holdings that pledged it will not raise toll fares for 20 years if it manages to take over PLUS highway.

The two shareholders of PLUS Malaysia Bhd are the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the UEM Group Berhad, with UEM Group Bhd owning a total of a 51% stake in PLUS while EPF holds the rest of the stake.

It was reported that Maju Holdings executive chairman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed had previously made public his intention to acquire PLUS.

Last Wednesday, the two shareholders of PLUS Malaysia Bhd reiterated that they have no intention to sell their stakes in the country’s largest highway concessionaire.

Nazri said the offer would also benefit the public as the offer showed that Maju Holdings intends to undertake improvements to the infrastructures such as lighting up the entire highway.

He also hit out at former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saying that such deals with concessionaires were made under his administration then.