Tolls abolished 20 years ahead of schedule, says Plus

Toll concessionaire Plus Malaysia Bhd today clarified that the concession tenure of toll booths at Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau in Selangor had been scheduled to end on Dec 31, 2038.

This was based on the 2011 revised concession agreement.

“The announcement made by the prime minister means that abolishment of toll collection effective Jan 1, 2018 at the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau toll plazas is realised 20 years ahead of schedule,” Plus said in a statement today.

“The 2011 concession agreement, which was restructured following the privatisation of Plus in the same year, saw toll collection being harmonised on all toll plazas that are under the purview of Plus and this includes Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau.”

Plus added that no toll increase had been implemented by the government and itself on all its highways since 2005.

Plus’ clarification comes after PKR’s Batu Tiga state assemblyperson Rodziah Ismail claimed that the concession agreement for both toll booths at Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau was supposed to end in 2018.

“The prime minister has again confused the rakyat by supposedly abolishing the toll at Batu Tiga when the concession agreement is supposed to end in 2018,” she said in a Facebook post last night.

In his Budget 2018 speech yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced that four tolls in Selangor, Kedah and Johor would be abolished effective Jan 1, 2018.

Apart from the tolls in Batu Tiga and Sungai Risau, the other tolls that will be abolished are in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah and the Eastern Dispersal Link in Johor.

Plus was also asked if it would be compensated for the abolished toll collection at Batu Tiga, Sungai Rasau and Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah.

In response, Plus said it would "make the necessary announcement" upon receiving further details from the government.

Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani had said yesterday that the government will not be compensating Plus in cash for the abolishment of the tolls.

Johari said the government will instead look to extend the concession tenure of other tolls operated by Plus.- Mkini