KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Kidex Sdn Bhd’s top official has dismissed the findings of an independent review that questioned the viability of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), calling it biased for its unflattering portrayal of the RM2.42 billion project.
The highway developer’s chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nor Idrus accused the independent consultant hired by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to do the review — MDS Traffic Planners and Consultants (MDS) — of having no specialised experience in conducting traffic studies.
“KSB (Kidex Sdn Bhd) has relied on a study by Jakob SKM, the world’s largest and renowned traffic consultant with several decades of experience and that of Runding Trafik MZK Sdn Bhd who have done traffic studies in Malaysia for a period of more than 15 years for more than 10 major highways,” he said in a statement last night to Malay Mail Online.
“It is clearly evidenced that MDS relied on the Kidex report to draw its conclusions and not through any independent studies as this was only a review of the TIA (traffic impact assessment) submitted by KSB to MBPJ.
“The MDS report has preferred to choose what it feels is required to provide a report whilst ignoring vital facts,” Nor Idrus added, maintaining that the highway project would benefit PJ residents.
The Kidex CEO also denied claims that it had inflated future traffic volumes on key roads in order to justify the need for the highway.
“KSB wishes to highlight that this statement is not supported empirically as MDS is not a traffic study specialist,” Nor Idrus said.
He described MDS’ report as “flawed”, “biased” and “misleading”, and reiterated the developer’s stand that its rebuttals to the review had been sent to MBPJ.
The highway developer has said it will not make its remarks on the report public.
MDS’ review concluded that the Kidex project suffers from major shortcomings with regards to its planning process as well as its potential impact on residents.
Among MDS’ concerns are the poor planning processes 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.
Anti-Kidex lobby Say No to Kidex (SNTK) has argued that the Selangor government does not even need to consider the expressway 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 13m 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 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.
