Govt to compensate PLUS

> Federal Highway concessionaire’s contract ends only in 2038

KAJANG: The government will pay compensation to PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) – the concessionaire for the Federal Highway – for abolishing toll collections at the highway beginning next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said compensation would be paid for the remaining 20 years of the contract, scheduled to end in 2038.

“The agreement for the concession is up to 2038. So when the tolls are abolished, it means that the government will pay compensation for the abolishment. The compensation is still subject to the existing agreement that both parties (government and PLUS) have signed,” he told reporters yesterday.

“The bottom line is that users will no longer need to pay tolls at this highway beginning Jan 1.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had, during the tabling of the 2018 Budget, announced that collections at the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau toll plazas on the Federal Highway would be abolished, together with two others in Johor and Kedah.

Following the confusion, PLUS released a statement clarifying that the concession for the Federal Highway was supposed to end in 2038, and not 2018 as rumoured, meaning it was 20 years ahead of schedule.

Ahmad Zahid also brushed aside claims that some of the initiatives in the budget had mimicked that of the Selangor government.

The deputy prime minister said any questions or opposing views can be debated in Parliament, adding that the public could then compare and judge for themselves.

His remarks were in response to Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s statement on Friday that many of the initiatives announced by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had been introduced in Selangor for some time.

“If he (Azmin) reckons that the Opposition’s alternative budget is better than the one tabled by the prime minister, then he could say so during the debate (in Parliament).

He added the Opposition’s budget was contrary to their statements made previously.