Works Minister Samy Vellu explained today that the proposal to increase the toll for the Penang Bridge is to avoid the federal government having to pay higher compensation to the road bridge concession holder.

The toll, he said, was supposed to be increased in 1998 but it was not, resulting in higher compensation for the federal government.

According to a Bernama report, Samy Vellu said that as far as the concession holder was concerned, any loss resulting from the failure to increase the toll would be compensated by the federal government.