Works Minister Samy Vellu said today there is no 'escape clause' in the government's agreement with highway concessionaires to facilitate re-negotiations.

"There cannot be such a clause... unless you (the government) pay all the money now (to the concessionaires). Banks would not lend the concessionaires money if there was such a clause," he said at a press conference today.

Samy was briefing reporters on how the government had hitherto compensated the highway concessionaires RM38.5 billion, of which RM1.76 billion was in cash.

The balance consists of tax reliefs, exemption of interest in government supported loans from banks and extensions of toll collecting period among others.

"We need to pay that amount not because we don't allow concession holders to raise the toll rates, but also because we want some of them to reduce the toll," said Samy.

At present, there are 20 such concessionaires.

Opportunity cost

When reporters approached his aide later, the aide explained that the sum was referring to the "opportunity cost" foregone by the government in paying such compensations and other benefits.

By keeping the toll rates at a low, the government would then incur an opportunity cost which is the amount of tax and interest that cannot be collected.

(Opportunity cost, an economics term, is defined as the cost of something in terms of an opportunity foregone and the benefits that could be received from that opportunity).

Samy also said that the toll rates would not be revised for the time being.

"Now, the government has decided that there will be no toll hike for 2005 and 2006," he said.

Repairing schools

The minister, who is also MIC president, announced that the party has identified 157 Tamil schools in need of urgent repairs.

He said that the list is a "suggestion" and that allocations for repairs would depend on the education ministry's discretion.

The Education Ministry recently announced that it has allocated RM10 million under the Eight Malaysia Plan to repair vernacular schools and mission schools, following the death of a teacher who fell through a classroom floorboard.

In another development, Samy also announced that the MIC delegates conference would be held from on June 24 and 25 next year.