KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Opponents of the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (Dash) are only protesting over a section in Damansara Perdana and not against the entire project, Datuk Fadillah Yusof has said.

The works minister revealed this after recently meting anti-Dash lobby Say No to Dash (SNTD) and reportedly pledged to help them obtain results of several key impact studies of the proposed highway, such as the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA), Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

“For your information, (Say) No to Dash has said they are not entirely objecting to Dash as a whole, just the alignment path at Damansara Perdana,” Fadillah told Malay Mail Online via text message when contacted.

SNTD has claimed that the highway developer, Prolintas Bhd, tried to conceal the fact that work on the Dash project has already begun despite no official confirmation from the Works Ministry or the Selangor government.

Attempts by the anti-Dash lobby to use the state government’s Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to release the state executive council’s meeting minutes on the highway have been unsuccessful so far.

It is understood that the Work Ministry’s concession agreement to Prolintas, which ended on September 25, has been extended till December 24.

According to Prolintas, Dash will be a 20.1 km, three-lane, dual carriageway expressway starting from Puncak Perdana in Shah Alam to the Penchala interchange.

In September, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) moved to repeal amendments to the city’s plans following public concerns over a number of issues, which included the Dash highway.

Some of the amendments which have been halted include the inclusion of the controversial 20.1km dual carriage Dash.

With 12 interchanges, the RM11.5 billion expressway plans to link drivers to Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong and Sprint highways, which residents claimed are already congested during peak hours.

Dash will serve motorists from Puncak Perdana, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Jalan Sungai Buloh, the Rubber Research Institute Malaysia, Kota Damansara, Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara, Prolintas said.

SNTD and the residents were concerned that in addition to traffic congestion, construction in the highly-populated area will be detrimental to their safety, health and the environment.