The government has reiterated plans to revive the stalled Maju Expressway extension (MEX II), with the central agency currently finalising discussions with parties appointed by the project’s sukuk holders to determine the best way to complete the highway’s construction.
According to works minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, the discussions are centred around key considerations to ensure the viability of the project. These include examining project completion costs, cash flow, traffic impact analysis and toll rates, the New Straits Times reports.
He said the central agency would coordinate the planning and direction of the MEX II project with relevant ministries and agencies, especially with regards to the financial model. “This will take into account appropriate parameters for evaluating the project’s viability, including technical aspects, and will then be presented to the cabinet for consideration,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.
Nanta was responding to a question from Yeo Bee Yin (PH–Puchong), who asked about the current status of the highway and the steps taken to prevent similar situations in the future. Yeo also asked about the amount of funding needed to complete the project and whether this would lead to an increase in toll rates.
In response, Nanta said the MEX II is a fully privatised project, funded by the developer through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement. As it was a private project, government-level approval is not required, he said.
“All project progress verifications, including progress claims, are reviewed and confirmed between the contractor, the concessionaire, the supervision consultant (SC), and the independent checking engineer (ICE), and submitted directly to the sukuk holders,” he explained.
However, the concessionaire was issued a notice of default by the sukuk holders in January 2022. Since then, all concession obligations have been handed over to the receivers and managers appointed by the sukuk holders to resolve the project’s financial issues and complete the remaining construction.
Construction of the 18 km-long, open-toll, three-lane dual carriageway project began in early 2017 and was due to be completed in December 2019. However, work stalled due to cash flow problems and, more recently, from MACC investigations into alleged false claims involving RM360 million.
The aim of the expressway is to provide the shortest and most direct route between the KL city centre to KLIA and KLIA 2 by linking up the 26 km-long MEX to Lebuhraya KLIA (FT26).
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