KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — The federal government has decided to postpone toll hikes for three major highways in 2021, in an effort to alleviate the rakyat’s burden amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senior Minister (Works) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the Cabinet made the decision during its meeting on Wednesday (April 28), which will apply for the period of January 1 to December 31 of this year.

"The postponement involves three highways which were expected to see toll hikes by January 1, including the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), and East Coast Expressway Phase Two (LPT2),” he said in a statement.

Fadillah added the existing toll hike postponement for 21 highway tolls and one toll plaza will carry on for the rest of the year, for all vehicle classes.

"These include the North–South Highway (Plus), Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (Duke), Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) and Maju Expressway (Mex).

"The existing postponement also applies to Class One and Five vehicles for one highway and two toll plazas, Class Five vehicles for one highway and three toll plazas, and Classes Two, Three, Four and Five vehicles for one highway,” he said.

Fadillah said the estimated cost of postponing the toll hikes, which will be borne by the government, is around RM2.25 billion, with negotiations to restructure the toll rate alongside the concessionaires still ongoing, to be completed before 2023.

"The estimated compensation is based on the calculating formula that was set in the concession agreement, with its actual value to be determined after the traffic verification process has been completed by Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia,” he said.