Berjaya believed working on competing bid for barrier-free toll system

 

Highway toll concessionaires are reportedly upset with a government proposal to appoint a unit of YTL Holdings to produce a barrier-free toll collection system.

PETALING JAYA: A major public company is believed to be seeking support from highway concessionaires on a competing bid to install a barrier-free system at toll plazas.

The company is believed to be Berjaya Group, according to a source who said the proposal came about after 32 highway toll concessionaires opposed a move by the government to appoint a unit of YTL Holdings to produce the barrier-free system.

The source said senior Berjaya executives have held individual meetings with representatives of the 32 concessionaires to explain what they have in mind and to get their feedback before submitting its final proposal to the works ministry.

He said the Berjaya offer is more palatable compared to the earlier proposal that is still being considered by the government.

FMT is awaiting comment from Berjaya executives

The source said “basically, their plan is what we want, to let the highway companies construct the multi-lane free-flow toll booths while Berjaya or another company provides toll collection services.

“Under this plan, the concessionaires will get their revenue the next day, as is being practised now,” the source said.

The source said the concessionaires also propose that the company providing the toll collection service will take care of revenue leaks that arise when toll booth barriers are removed.

“We don’t want to be bogged down with tracking down the motorists who drive through without paying,” he told FMT.

The source said the concessionaires want the barrier-free system only at major toll plazas, especially in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor, where traffic congestion is worse.

With this kind of arrangement, the cost of implementing the multilane free-flow system will be cut by 30%, he said.

In March 2023, the Dewan Rakyat was told that RM3.46 billion had been allocated to implement a barrier-free system at highway toll plazas by 2025.

Last year, the government was reported to have signed an “appointment agreement” in November 2022 with a YTL company to build the free-flow system and manage the collection of tolls, which amount to about RM6 billion a year.

Under the agreement, the company would stand to collect RM650 million to RM850 million annually from the concessionaires over a 20-year period.

An objection was filed with the works ministry by the Association of Highway Concessionaires Malaysia, which said the move would violate their individual agreements with the government.

The concessionaires contended that they could implement a free-flow system for at least 30% less than the YTL proposal.

The association contended that the YTL plan would allow the new company to take over the concessionnaires’ toll operations and validation process, which would give rise to “potential integrity issues” regarding traffic and toll revenue.

Following the association’s objection, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim assured the highway companies that the government had not made a final decision on the matter. - FMT