PUTRAJAYA, Dec 30 — The Cabinet will finalise its decision over the proposed takeover of Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (PLUS) Malaysia Bhd and four other highway concessionaires by Gamuda Berhad next week.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told a press conference here today that the decision must be made quickly to avoid increasing the compensation sum to be paid to the toll operators.

"The Cabinet decision on PLUS will be made by next week. Since we have already frozen toll hikes this year, we will need to come up with compensation. We need to decide quickly; otherwise, the compensation will keep on mounting,” he said after closing the Financial Literacy Festival here.

He added that any decision on the highways must ensure a "triple-win” for the government, the company’s owners — Khazanah and EPF — and the public.

Earlier, Works Minister Baru Bian had said that the Cabinet has requested for a re-tabling of the details on the takeover bid of PLUS, Malaysia’s biggest highway operator.

He said this was requested by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to ensure a proper review of the information before a decision is made.