Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has put a stop to the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) project.

In a press release today, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali, said the concessionaire for the Kidex project - Kidex Sdn Bhd - had failed to fulfil three conditions set by the state government:

  1. Provide an independent traffic impact assessment, social impact assessment and environmental impact assessment.

 

  • Reveal the toll charges throughout the concession period, an estimate of the total toll charges that will be collected during the period and the returns of invesment rate.

    •  

  • Making the concession agreement public in the interest of transparency.
    • Azmin said that the company was told to abide by these conditions before Feb 14.

    "Since neither of the conditions have been fulfilled by Kidex, thus the Selangor government is now announcing the cancellation of this project.

    "This approach will also be taken when considering approvals of other proposed highways involving Selangor," he added.

    Azmin said his administration takes public opinion into account in approving development projects to ensure that such projects benefits all sectors.

    Pressure group not yet convinced

    Meanwhile, pressure group Say No to Kidex spokesperson Mak Khuin Weng said he is "cautiously optimistic" about Azmin's announcement.

    "We laud the menteri besar's announcement for giving residents relief, but there are still legal issues that need clarification," he told Malaysiakini when contacted.

    He said this is because the state's town planning department has called for a meeting slated for March 10 with residents on several highways in Selangor.

    Mak said the meeting is part of a legal procedure to include the highways into the Selangor structure plan.

    "So while the menteri besar has made an announcement, if the highway is part of the structure plan, the official document will allow the highway project to proceed," he said.

    Mak urged Azmin to cancel the town planning department's meeting with residents in view of Kidex's cancellation.

    An outcome of the Kajang move?

    Kidex, spanning 14.9km, is a fully-elevated highway project estimated to cost between RM2.2 billion and RM2.4 billion.

    For its length, Kidex is the country’s most expensive highway yet at RM148 million per kilometre to construct.

    The project looked almost set to take off during when Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was menteri besar, despite widespread objections.

    Among others, Abdul Khalid said it would be "unfair" to the developers if the project was called off.

    He also claimed that the state government had no authority to block the federal government's plans to construct Kidex, despite the fact that it is common knowledge that such projects require local government approval.

    Abdul Khalid was ultimately sacked from PKR and replaced with Azmin after a lenghty tussle that is now referred to as the "Kajang move".

    Previously, it was reported that Kidex Sdn Bhd is 70 percent-owned by Emrail Sdn Bhd which has links to former chief justice Zaki Azmi through his wife's directorship.

    The 30 percent owner of Kidex Sdn Bhd is Zabima Engineering Sdn Bhd. Umno legal advisor Mohd Hafarizam Harun was once a director in both Zabima Engineering and Emrail.

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