Govt takeover of highways can scare away investors - Works Minister

Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof on Monday spoke of the consequences of a proposal for the government to buy out the highway toll concessionaire companies.

He said a government takeover of the companies would have investors regard it as nationalisation and keep them away from Malaysia.

With the government as the toll concessionaire, the people would hope for an abolition of toll and this would incur a high double cost to the government, he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim (BN-Kuala Selangor) in the Dewan Rakyat.

Fadillah explained that the national privatisation policy was aimed at reducing the government's financial burden and encouraging economic growth.

He said the government had, since 2008, undertaken various efforts and initiatives to reduce the highway toll rates.

These included deferring increases in the toll rates between 2008 and 2013, abolition of toll on certain highways and reduction and restructuring of the toll rates, he added.