BN never promised to reduce the number of highway toll gates in the Klang Valley, Works Minister Fadillah Yusof said.

Instead, he said, the BN manifesto only promised not to raise toll rates for inter-city highways from 2013 to 2018.

He said this only involved the North-South Expressway (Plus) and the East Coast Highway (LPT).

“Therefore the proposal to reduce the number of toll gates in the Klang Valley is not included in the BN manifesto for the 13th general election,” he said.

He said this in a written parliamentary reply to Hee Loy Sian (DAP-Petaling Jaya Selatan) who asked the government to state what it has done to reduce the number of toll gates in the Klang Valley, to reduce burden on the rakyat.

Lee said this was promised by BN in its GE13 manifesto.

Fadillah, who is also Petra Jaya MP, added that the government has since 2008 been in negotiations with highway concessionaires to reduce burden on road users.

He said the “win-win” solution reached was for the concessionaires to postpone toll rate hikes for eight years - from 2008 to Oct 14, 2015.

Toll collection also ceased at eight toll gates on six highways, at a date earlier than what is agreed in the concession agreement. This involved three concessionaires, he said.

“The government has restructured toll rates for highways under the care of the Plus Malaysia Bhd and Kumpulan ANIH Bhd concessionaires, and improved the clauses in the concession agreements to ensure revision of toll rates and a halt of automatic hikes,” he said.