Damansara Utama assemblyperson Yeo Bee Yin has called on the Selangor government and Putrajaya to justify the price tag for the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), which is the most expensive highway in terms of per kilometre.

"An elevated highway that cuts through a mature township, incurring the highest construction cost per kilometre and costs more than RM3 billion of the rakyat’s money warrants close scrutiny and greater transparency," Yeo ( right ) said in a statement today.

She said the state and federal governments must show to the people that the benefits of Kidex outweigh its cost, and that there is no better alternative, before making a final decision on its approval.

Yeo pointed out that the 14.9-km highway is expected to have a construction cost of RM2.4 billion, at RM161 million per kilometre, the highest cost per kilometre in Malaysia’s history of toll roads.

Furthermore, the 290 lots of land with a total of 15.15 hectares that are needed to be acquired for the project will further cost of Kidex by RM700 million to RM1 billion, she said.

This brings the total cost of the highway to between RM3.1 billion and RM3.4 billion.

"We call for greater transparency and accountability to the general public from both the state and federal governments, especially those whose lives will be affected by the highway," Yeo said.

Putrajaya has given conditional approval to the federal-initiated project while Selangor, which needs to give the relevant land approvals, has agreed to the construction of the expressway "in principle".

However, Kidex is facing growing opposition from residents in densely-populated Petaling Jaya, where the highway will cut through.

The highway will begin at Damansara and run into the heart of Petaling Jaya before proceeding to Kinrara and ending at the Bukit Jalil Highway.

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