KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — The independent report on the problems facing the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) is factually incorrect, its developer has said following renewed calls for the RM2.42 billion project to be scrapped after this week’s damning review.

Kidex Sdn Bhd said that it has already countered the arguments raised in the report by MDS Traffic Planners and Consultants, an independent company commissioned by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), even before the briefing on Tuesday to Selangor federal and state lawmakers as well as local councillors.

“The report is flawed. We have replied to MBPJ personally, even before the report was released. We have passed it to the relevant authorities and it is up to MBPJ to make it public,” a Kidex Sdn Bhd spokesperson told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

 Kidex Sdn Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Mohd Nor Idrus would not comment on the matter as the MDS report is currently under MBPJ’s review.

“The report is currently being reviewed and deliberated upon by Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) and at this point in time we do not wish to comment on it,” he told Malay Mail Online in a short statement.

The highway developer said it will not make its remarks on the report public.

Instead, he said feedback on the MDS review has been given to MBPJ and it will be up to the city council to decide on the matter.

MDS’ review has concluded that the Kidex project suffers from major shortcomings with regards to its planning process as well as its potential impact on residents.

Chief of MDS’ concerns are the poor planning process on a structural level between the different government levels, a badly-executed social impact assessment (SIA), the issue of the highway encroaching on homes and public buildings like schools and hospitals as well as possible adjustments to Kidex’s proposed alignment.

MBPJ councillor Lee Suet Sen confirmed that Kidex Sdn Bhd’s response to the MDS review had been sent in before the briefing, but said that the city council could not make the contents of their remarks public.

“We have to pass all this to the Selangor government, let them have a look at it, possibly at the next state economic action council meeting (MTES),” he said when met at the MBPJ headquarters on Wednesday.

Anti-Kidex lobby Say No to Kidex (SNTK) has argued that the Selangor government doesn’t even need to consider the Kinrara-Damansara expressway (Kidex) after MDS’s report highlighted its many flaws.

The report stated that issues such as local plan contents, alignment route as well as the supposed 13-metre set-back proximity of the highway from buildings and residential objections could have been addressed and resolved much earlier if the Selangor government and MBPJ had been included prior to the submission of the proposal by Kidex Sdn Bhd.

MDS also took issue with Kidex Sdn Bhd’s SIA study, pointing out that the developer failed to address objections and concerns put forth by residents who would be affected by the highway.

It said that the developer should have explained issues such as the planned acquisition of residential and industrial lots via the “13 metre set-back rules” to affected parties more thoroughly and that many of them did not understand how the process was done.

MDS also said Kidex Sdn Bhd’s own studies showed that PJ is “not as congested” as it was assumed to be, and that the highway’s role to alleviate traffic congestion should be re-examined.

Kidex Sdn Bhd has maintained it has fulfilled all the pre-conditions stipulated in its concession agreement with the federal government, ahead of the deal’s expiry on February 15.

But the developer for the controversial RM2.42 billion Kinrara-Damansara (Kidex) Expressway said it is prepared to apply for further extension of its concession agreement deadline, as the Selangor government has yet to approve the project and the various technical reports submitted by the company.

Among the areas that could be affected by the project are Tropicana Mall, SS2 Mall, Rothman’s traffic lights, Section 14, Amcorp Mall, Hilton Petaling Jaya, Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital, Jalan Templer roundabout, Taman Datuk Harun, Taman Medan Baru and Bandar Kinrara.