The concessionaires had in 2023 protested against the government’s move to directly award a private company the multi-lane free flow (MLFF) project for all highways in the country.
Under the MLFF system, all exit and entry points on highways will be converted into barrier-free lanes to reduce congestion and ease traffic flow.
The concessionaires, who were reportedly not consulted over the project, would eventually have to foot the RM3.46 billion bill for the project.
But a source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the concessionaires would save at least 30% of the total cost if they funded the initiative themselves.
For starters, the source said, a majority of the highway operators would introduce a single free-flow lane to test the system and implement the MLFF system after ironing out problems that might arise during the trial run.
The single lane trial would still feature a barrier but this would open much faster than the current radio frequency identification lanes where motorists have to slow down before the barrier is lifted.
The source said the barrier was needed to prevent leakages caused by non-paying motorists, and issues such as illegal and unregulated car plate numbers and tailgating, which would impact toll revenue.
“During this time, the concessionaires will work with the road transport department (JPJ) on ways to quickly track down the offenders as such leakages will impair their ability to service their debts,” the source told FMT.
Once the kinks are ironed out, the operators will remove the barriers and proceed to implement the MLFF system in full, which will reduce congestion at the toll plazas.
The concessionaires will then decide individually on the firms to appoint on the free-flow toll collection system.
“The concessionaires are getting together to coordinate this mode of implementation as soon as possible as the urgency is there,” the source said.
“Most importantly, this will save the companies quite a bit compared to the government handing out the contract to a handpicked firm for a 20-year concession.”
In 2023, the Association of Highway Concessionaires Malaysia sent a letter to the government saying it was against the agreements to offer a concession to a third party over their existing ones.
It said this move would work against the highway companies which already had huge bank loans to service, adding that they only saw profits after 12 to 15 years upon inking the agreements.