LPT3 project not finalised, as concessionaire’s capabilities need to be examined – Ahmad Maslan

The government has yet to decide on the construction of the proposed East Coast Expressway 3 (LPT 3), said deputy works minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan. Nothing has been finalised because there certain aspects of the project requires in-depth study, including the concessionaire’s willingness and ability to undertake it, he explained.

“We have not given a tender to any party because we need to go through the request for proposal (RFP) process first. Whether the concessionaire is interested or not also needs to be assessed, given that the end-to-end toll rate is estimated to be RM70. This raises the question of whether the highway will be competitive and popular,” he said.

“Not all 33 toll concessions are currently making a profit. Some are also not profitable. So, LPT 3 is still at a stage where there is no final decision yet,” he said during the Q&A session at the Dewan Rakyat, as reported by Bernama. He was responding to a supplementary question from Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) regarding the government’s commitment to ensuring transparency in the use of funds and financing of the LPT 3 project.

Previously, Ahmad had said that should construction of the 122 km-long expressway proceed, it would be built using the BOT (build, operate, transfer) financing model. The fully-tolled highway, which would connect Kampung Gemuroh, Kuala Terengganu to Kampung Tunjong in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, is estimated to cost around RM9.8 billion to build.

The works ministry had conducted an LPT 3 feasibility study back in 2009 to determine whether the proposed highway alignment was viable from both a technical and economic perspective. At that time, the project cost was estimated at RM2.867 billion.

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