CARETAKER Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has announced the cancellation of the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) which was previously approved by the federal government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in April last year.
Earlier this month, Amirudin had mentioned that the Selangor state government had only given the controversial project, which would cost around RM2.4 bil, conditional approval and that if certain standards were not met, it would end up like the scrapped Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (KIDEX).
“This administration’s principle is that development in Selangor should have a balance in terms of sustainability, economic progress, and not cause harm to residents,” Amiruddin said in a statement uploaded on Facebook today (July 31).
According to the social impact assessment (SIA) report, his caretaker administration “is not satisfied with the plan that has been presented because it does not fulfil the conditions” that the state had previously set.
“As such, the Selangor government does not wish to continue with this proposal and has decided to cancel the construction of PJD Link,” he added.
The proposed PJD Link Expressway is a 25.4-km, two-lane dual carriageway (four lanes) expressway that commences after the NKVE toll plaza on SPRINT Highway, Damansara. It ends at the Bukit Jalil highway interchange.
The project is aimed at improving traffic congestion and caters to future vehicle growth in the greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley area.
Amiruddin, who is also the Gombak MP, said in an interview with the BFM Breakfast Grille on July 14 that the Selangor state government will not approve the controversial PJD Link project if the proposed highway turns out to be similar to the scrapped KIDEX project.
The KIDEX highway project, envisioned to feature a 90% elevated expressway with a cost of RM2.42 bil, was scrapped in 2015 by former Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali after the state government discovered that the concessionaire for the KIDEX project had failed to meet three conditions set by the state government.
Azmin had noted then that the KIDEX concessionaire did not disclose various reports for the project such as a traffic impact assessment, a social impact assessment and an environmental impact assessment, besides failing to reveal the toll rates and full concession agreement.
Selangor State Executive Councillor Izham Hashim informed the state assembly on Nov 9, 2020, that the PJD Link proposal was discussed at a State Economic Council (MTES) meeting, prompting several Petaling Jaya residents’ groups to express concern that the proposed highway would be an updated version of the KIDEX project. – July 31, 2023
Main pic credit: The Star