Plus Expressways Bhd has managed to strike off RM9 billion from its massive losses following an ongoing debt restructuring programme, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.

The cash cow of the heavily indebted UEM-Renong group has managed to lower its debts which stood at RM16.5 billion as of Oct 31, 2001, and gained listing on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in July.

The listing was the biggest element in the latest restructuring of the UEM-Renong group which began last year.

Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Hashim Ismail said prior to the restructuring, Plus' debts had been expected to rise to RM20 billion in 2005.

"However, after the restructuring, the debt amount is expected to decrease to RM7.5 billion only," he said, during the question-and-answer session.

"And this does not include debts which have been written off by UEM-Renong," he added.

Hashim was replying to a question by Abdul Rahman Yusof (Keadilan-Kemaman) on Plus' debt amount.

No probe

Abdul Rahman also asked if investigations would be carried out on Plus or UEM, in case misappropriation of funds may have caused the massive losses.

Hashim said no investigations will be carried out as Plus had been losing money due to the poor economic downturn, not abuse of funds.

"Plus incurred losses because the traffic volume decreased substantially due to the economic downturn," he said, adding that the company had to deal with high operating costs and loan repayment rates.

"Our focus now is to reduce the company's debts and increase its profits. In November, we are planning to get it listed on the Kuala Lumpur Company Index as one of the 100 blue-chip companies that determine the KLSE," he added.

Plus Expressways is the holding company of Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan, the company that operates and maintains three interconnected expressways, North-South Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway and a section of the Federal Highway.

Plus operations are carried out under a concession agreement expiring on May 31, 2030, after which all of its assets will be transferred to the government at no cost. The expressways have been fully operational since February 1994.

The expressway concessionaire in Malaysia is the largest in terms of toll receipts and the Plus Expressways Group is the largest listed expressway operator in Southeast Asia in terms of toll receipts.