KUALA LANGAT (Jan 21): The concessionaires of four highways in the Klang Valley hope the government will be able to make a decision on the takeover of the highway concessions latest by end-March this year.

Chief executive officer of Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak) and Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (Sprint) Sazally Saidi said this was because the discussions on the takeover are still ongoing without a final decision from the government.

"For the takeover process, discussions between the shareholders of the highway concessions and the government are still ongoing, however, there’s no answer yet (from the government) until now.

“We hope all the discussions would be finalised by end-March this year," he said to reporters after presenting contributions in the form of necessities in conjunction with the Chinese New Year (CNY) this Saturday to the senior citizens of Rumah Sejahtera, Jenjarom here, today.

Present were Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) chief operating officer (COO) Mohammed Shah Samin and Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (Smart) acting COO Mohd Noor Mohd Ali.

Sazally said this when asked to comment on the developments relating to the takeover of the four highway concessions, namely Kesas, Smart, Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Sprint announced by the government last year.

The government through the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) last year presented takeover offers to the four concessionaires of the highways for RM6.2 billion in an effort to lighten the burden of the people via toll reduction.

The breakdown of the offer prices are LDP for RM2.47 billion, Sprint (RM1.984 billion); Kesas (RM1,377 billion) and Smart for RM369 million.

In another development, Sazally said the management of Sprint, Kesas and Smart highways will deploy patrol officers at their respective routes to assist and facilitate highway users’ travel during the run-up to the CNY celebrations this weekend.

"Usually two and three days before a festive season there will be congestion on the highways as vehicles leave the cities for the villages. Hence, patrol officers will be deployed at certain locations to help keep the traffic smooth and facilitate the users’ journey back home.

"Sprint will deploy 68 patrol officers, Kesas 45 while Smart will have 16 officers," he said.