He said that under PH’s plan, toll charges would continue to be collected even after the concession agreements ended, as announced by former finance minister Lim Guan Eng in 2019.
PH had promised to abolish tolls in stages in its 14th general election manifesto.
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However, after it came to power, the Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led government proposed instead a plan to make highways toll-free for 16 hours a day and give a 30% discount for the remaining eight hours because of the government’s financial constraints.
The proposal came with a catch in that a “congestion charge” would be implemented where commuters would pay the equivalent of existing toll charges for six hours during peak periods.
Fadillah said the current restructuring exercise ensured that there would be no increase in toll charges and at the same time, the government did not have to pay cash compensation to the concessionaires.
“It should also be noted that all agreements with the private sector are monitored by investors and the government cannot arbitrarily issue empty promises or implement something that will affect investor confidence,” he said in a statement.
He said the government had also taken into account that there would be no more profit-oriented shareholders, except for existing ones who will get an early return on their investment.
“Since there are no more profit-oriented shareholders, there is no commercial element such as dividend payments that will increase the cost.
“Therefore, the concession period from now on is only to cover financial as well as operating and maintenance costs,” he said.
Fadillah said the toll restructuring exercise was not a PH policy as the plan existed during the Barisan Nasional era in 2002.
He said BN had decided since then that the works ministry, together with other relevant agencies, would negotiate with highway concessionaires to restructure toll rates on major highways across the country.
“When negotiations are carried out with a concessionaire, it takes into account traffic projections, when a highway was completed and operational and the actual traffic volume.
“We take into account matters such as reducing inter-city highway toll rates in stages, the rising cost of living, the concession companies’ loans and the impact on government liabilities among others,” he said.
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