KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof will take the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) back to the Cabinet for a decision, after Selangor announced it had rejected the RM2.42 billion highway project.
The federal government over the weekend approved another extension of the Kidex highway project, from February 15 to November 14.
“I will bring this matter to the Cabinet to obtain a guideline and decision regarding the MB (Selangor mentri besar Azmin Ali’s) decision,” Fadillah told Malay Mail Online in a text message yesterday.
However, he did not state if the matter would be raised in this week’s Cabinet meeting.
Selangor has rejected the Kidex project after saying the developer failed to meet terms set by the state government before a February 14 deadline.
State Mentri Besar Azmin noted that Kidex did not disclose various reports for the project such as a traffic impact assessment, a social impact assessment and an environmental impact assessment, besides failing to reveal the toll rates and full concession agreement.
“Since not one of these conditions was met by Kidex before the deadline, the Selangor government has therefore decided to announce the cancellation of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex),” Azmin said in a statement yesterday.
“The same approach will be used to consider the applications of approval for other highway projects under the purview of the Selangor government,” he added.
The cancellation of the RM2.42 billion highway project came after Selangor residents held a protest last month against Kidex and the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash) highway project.
Former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim had lent his support and even suggested that unhappy residents sue Kidex and Dash developers to halt the projects.
An independent review of Kidex by MDS Traffic Planners and Consultants showed last month that the project suffered from a poor planning process between various government levels, besides highlighting concerns of the highway encroaching homes and public buildings like schools and hospitals.
Among the areas that could be affected by the Kidex 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.
