Pic courtesy of Free Malaysia Today
By refusing to disclose its highway concession deal to the public, the management of the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) has “hit the nail on its own coffin”.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said today rapped the highway operator for choosing to share the details of its project agreement with Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali.
“The failure of Kidex to comply with the clear and strict conditions by the Selangor state government would automatically mean that the highway project will not even be considered for approval, much less be given the approval to proceed,” he said.
These conditions included, amongst others, that the agreement be fully disclosed to the public.
“Hence Kidex’s ‘agreement’ to reveal its concession agreement only to the Mentri Besar and his legal advisors clearly fell short of what is required of the concessionaire to meet the transparency and accountability standards of the state government,” said Pua.
It was reported by the Malay Mail Online yesterday that Kidex had agreed to reveal the details of its highway concession agreement only to the Selangor government and not the general public, prompting Pua’s response.
On November 15, 2013, upon signing of the concession agreement, Kidex was given a year to fulfill certain conditions before proceeding to build the highway. A year later, after failing to satisfy some of the conditions, it was given a three month extension, which ends February 14.
On October 31 last year, Azmin Ali outlined terms by which Kidex and other new highways had to comply with before being given consideration by the state.
Amongst these terms were, that Kidex provides a traffic impact assessment study, and other relevant studies to demonstrate that the highway would substantially benefit commuters, and that it would significant reduce traffic congestion and travel time.
It also stated that there be full transparency on the rate of return of the highway including toll rates to be charged. Also, as addressed by Pua, a final condition that the agreement be fully disclosed to the public.
In his statement today, Pua also urged the Federal Government to reject Kidex’s request to extend its deadline again, if it is unable to fulfil conditions stipulated by the state in order to proceed with building the highway. -The Rocket
