Toll discount: For which highways and vehicles?

Putrajaya today outlined the details of the 18 percent discount for tolls for highways in the Plus Malaysia Berhad (Plus) stable.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, in a statement today, said the discount will apply to the following highways:

1. North-South Expressway (NSE)

2. New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE)

3. North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite)

4. Second Link Expressway (Linkedua)

5. East Coast Expressway Phase 2 (LPT)

6. Seremban–Port Dickson Highway (SPDH)

7. Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE)

8. Penang Bridge

He also explained the discount would only apply to the following type of vehicles:

1. Passenger vehicles (Class 1)

2. Taxi (Class 4)

3. Buses (Class 5)

The discount will not apply to commercial heavy vehicles (Class 3 and 4).

Unlike past arrangements where toll prices increase every three to five years, the new toll rate will remain the same until the end of the concession.

As part of the restructuring, the concession has also been extended from 2038 to 2058.

Plus' concession has been extended four times since 1999 and each came with a toll rate hike. The latest extension is the first time the toll rate has gone down.

In 1999, the government extended Plus' NSE concession by 12 years to 2030 with toll collection increasing by 26 percent every three to five years until 2016.

In 2005, Plus' NSE concession was extended until 2038 with toll charges increasing by 10 percent every three years.

In 2011, Plus's concessions for all other highways was also extended to 2038 and as part of a restructuring, all the highways only saw a five percent increase every three years.

The latest extension this year, however, will come with an 18 percent reduction in toll rates.

Lim said the reduction will save taxpayers RM1.1 billion in 2020 alone.

"This includes RM500 million savings from the 18 percent discount and RM600 million in government savings towards compensation payments," he said.

He added that with the RM600 million saved on the government's part, the funds can be directed towards welfare and development.

The new toll discount will come into effect on Feb 1.

Plus had previously said it would need to consult its sukuk bondholders to address any concerns over the government's plan.

However, Lim said a meeting yesterday, involving the owners of Plus, had reaffirmed the target to roll out the discount on Feb 1.

Plus is 51 percent-owned by the EPF and 49 percent-owned by Khazanah Nasional through its wholly-owned subsidiary UEM Group Bhd. - Mkini