In the 12th Malaysia Plan, or Rancangan Malaysia Ke-12 (RMK-12) as presented by prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the Malaysian government outlined its plans for the restructuring of the highway development model.
According to the Plan, this restructuring is aimed at reducing the risk to the government while enabling concessionaires to carry out operations and maintenance of the highway, while enabling the generation of fair returns from toll fare collection.
Formulated last year, the Highway Network Development Plan 2030 (HNDP 2030) was devised for the provision of “a comprehensive and systematic masterplan” for the upgrading and development of new roads, and this masterplan conceived as a reference for development on federal, state and local levels.
The government will also explore options in order to ensure the viability of existing highway projects, the Plan stated. HNDP 2030 will also have provision for “a mechanism for prioritising new highways and available funding options,” it continued.
The 12th Malaysia Plan also provided a brief progress report for ongoing highway developments in the country. For the central to east coast regions of the Peninsula, Central Spine Road (CSR) connecting Bentong, Pahang and Kuala Krai, Kelantan was at 58.2% completion as of the end of 2020, and the construction of the remaining CSR alignment is expected to be complete by 2025.
Construction of the Kota Bharu – Kuala Krai (KBKK) highway in Kelantan is also being carried out in phases, with two out of eight sub-packages from Pasir Hor to Ketereh completed in 2019. Work progress on the KBKK was at 38% as of the end of 2020, with the remaining alignment from Ketereh to Kuala Krai expected to reach completion by 2025.
Preliminary works on the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur 3 (LPT 3) commenced in 2020, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2022, according to RMK-12. The LPT 3 will connect Gemuruh, Terengganu to Tok Bali, Kelantan.
For East Malaysia, work progress on the Pan Borneo Sabah Highway was at 44% at the end of 2020, and a further 281 km of the highway is expected be to complete by 2024. Meanwhile, the Pan Borneo Sarawak Highway from Telok Melano to Miri was at 59.4% completion as of the end of 2020, and is expected to be ready by 2022.
For the Greater Klang Valley, five highways are under construction; these are the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE), Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH), East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE), Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway (SPE) and Putrajaya-KLIA Expressway (MEX 2). All are scheduled for completion Q4 2021. Meanwhile, the West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak is expected to reach completion by 2024.
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