Putrajaya initiates talks to takeover and 'abolish' tolls

In line with its promise to abolish toll collection in stages, the government today announced that it has entered into talks with Gamuda Berhad to negotiate acquisitions of four highway concessions which the company has a majority stake in.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a statement today said the move will eventually see the government doing away with the existing toll mechanism, to be replaced with a congestion charge.

"Upon successful takeover of the highways, the government intends to abolish the existing toll mechanism.

"In its place, a ‘congestion charge’ will be introduced where commuters will only pay a ‘congestion charge’ equivalent to the existing toll for six hours of 'peak' period a day," said the PMO in a statement.

The four highways involved in the initial discussion with Gamuda are the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat (Sprint), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (Kesas) and Smart Tunnel. - Mkini