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Press Statement

by Lim Guan Eng

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(Petaling Jaya, Sunday): There is no reason for Works Minister Datuk S. Samy Vellu to submit a working paper to Cabinet next week seeking a 10% toll hike for 7 highway concessionaires from 1.1.2008 when these companies have already earned RM 2.36 billion in toll collections from the public alone without counting government compensation paid to defer toll hikes.

Samy Vellu said the next toll increase scheduled for Jan 1, 2008 involved 8 concessionaires - Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway, North-South Expressway, Elite, Kulim-Butterworth highway, Second Link in Johor, Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, North Klang Straits Expressway and the Penang Bridge. An analysis of toll collections against the construction and maintenance of 7 highway concessionaires (see below) shows huge profits earned that does not justify any toll increase next year.

These 7 concessionaires are profitable, with toll collections of RM 20.22 billion as compared to the total cost of RM 17.86 billion comprising of RM 6.744 billion in maintenance and RM 17.864 in construction. In other words the 7 concessionaires have already earned profits of RM 2.36 billion by 2006 and still have nearly 30 years of profits to be earned.

And this is not all because the RM 2.36 billion profits to date do not include the government compensation paid to these companies for deferring toll hikes. No estimate is available as to the amount of compensation paid by the government but it must be substantial when Samy announced in September 2006 that the government paid compensation amounting to RM 38.5 billion to the highway companies.

That is why any rejection of the 10% hike in toll rates is meaningless when the public will still have to pay PLUS in the form of government compensation. Only when there is no toll hike and no government compensation made, will the highway companies be considered as contributing to the interests of Malaysians and real benefits enjoyed from the rejection of toll hike.

What is 10% toll hike when these 7 concessionaires has already made RM 2.36 billion in profits and is expected to make tens of billions of ringgit more? PLUS which comprise 85% of the highways in Malaysia has earned even more with RM 3.7 billion in only 19 years without taking into account the amount of government compensation received. As PLUS has a 50 year concession agreement, it still has 31 years to earn tens of billions of profits. Why should the government help these companies earn more money by approving toll hikes?

This will be test of resolve for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi whether he is concerned about the plight of tens of millions of ordinary Malaysians who will be the hardest hit by the toll hike or more concerned about padding the profits of a one big company. To ensure that national interests are protected, Badawi should ensure that if there is no 10% hike in toll rates, there should be no corresponding compensation payment to the highway companies.

Total maintenance and construction cost for 7 concessionaires till year 2006