PUNCAK ALAM: About 60 per cent of federal roads in the country have expired service lives and need to be repaired with an allocation of approximately RM3 billion, said Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Considering the high costs involved, he said the ministry was holding negotiations with the concessionaires and also getting feedback from all the ministries to plan for the construction and repair of the roads that had expired.

"That's why we want to work with several parties and our approach is diverse but the important thing is that we have to build new roads so that the comfort and safety of the users is guaranteed," he told reporters here today.

Meanwhile, Fadillah said an additional allocation of RM130 million had been approved by the Ministry of Finance on Sept 13 for the periodic maintenance of pavements on federal roads throughout the country.

He said all allocations have been offered to contractors in peninsular Malaysia through 180 works worth RM113 million while RM17 million was channeled to contractors in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan through 17 works.

"All these works are expected to be completed within a month and a half or in November," he said.

-- BERNAMA