WCE Banting-Gelang Patah stretch will ease congestion on NSE, says Loke

 

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said the West Coast Expressway from Banting in Selangor to Gelang Patah in Johor will alleviate traffic congestion on the North-South Expressway and boost the local economy. (Bernama pic)

TANGKAK: 

The West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Banting, Selangor, to Gelang Patah, Johor, will serve as an alternative route to alleviate the traffic congestion frequently faced by motorists on the North-South Expressway (NSE).

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said the project, which is in the planning stages, will also positively impact development in areas along the route, thereby contributing to the local economy.

“It will be an alternative to the NSE because we know that the expressway, especially from Johor Bahru to the north or Kuala Lumpur, is always congested on weekends and sometimes unable to accommodate the volume of vehicles.

“When this new alignment is built, it will also act as a catalyst for development in the adjacent coastal areas,” he told reporters after attending the groundbreaking ceremony for a multi-purpose building at Pei Hwa Independent High School here today.

Loke said the areas expected to benefit from the economic spillover of the project include Klang, Port Dickson, Melaka, Muar and Batu Pahat.

He said the highway project will also contribute to the development of the country’s logistics sector, particularly by connecting two major ports – Port Klang in Selangor and Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor.

Tabling the 2025 budget on Oct 18, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the WCE Banting-Gelang Patah expressway project, which adopts the public-private partnership approach, will be given priority next year.

Other projects that will adopt the PPP approach are the construction of Hospital Sultanah Aminah 2 in Johor, and the Juru and Sungai Dua elevated expressway in Penang.

Currently, the NSE is the only highway that connects Johor to the Klang Valley for land transport modes such as lorries, buses, cars and motorcycles. The expressway, managed by Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan (PLUS), was opened in 1994. - FMT