SHAH ALAM, June 16 — A briefing over the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) scheduled for last Thursday was postponed as the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) had asked a week’s extension, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today.
The meeting was called off at the eleventh hour last week after the apparent failure of MHA representatives to arrive at the intended time.
“I have asked the Malaysian Highway Authority to discuss with the Selangor Economic Action Council last week, but they had asked for one more week to explain the development and Selangor highway (revenues) so we can understand the situation better.
“If they give the impact reports, traffic study, I will ask them to explain… then, the government will decide whether they prioritised the public’s interest, based on their explanation,” Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim told the state assembly.
Local Government, Study and Research standing committee chairman Datuk Teng Chang Khim later told The Malay Mail Online that the state will be meeting LLM on Thursday.
The meeting was meant for the federal authority to furnish relevant details on the RM2.42 billion highway project.
The Kidex project has been rejected on three occasions by the city council as developers had failed to provide sufficient details.
Under Section 18 of the Town Country and Planning Act (TCPA), construction cannot start unless the highway fits with MBPJ’s plans.
Kidex is currently not incorporated into the council’s blueprint for Petaling Jaya city.
Despite the growing opposition, mounting evidence in the form of replies in Parliament and the state legislative assembly indicate that the project is set to proceed.
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.
Construction of the RM2.42 billion highway could begin as soon as next year and be completed by 2018.
