No decision yet on raising PLUS toll rate

Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said under the concession agreement, the highway operator could have raised the toll rate last January.

He said the discussion with the concession holder took into consideration the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto in the 12th general election which was not to raise the toll ate for highways connecting the towns.

"We remember, there was a BN government manifesto on the toll rates between the towns which would not be raised, we are aware of it and we discussed with the concession company," he said when winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the Dewan Rakyat Wednesday.

He was replying to a question from Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Kulai) who wanted to know whether PLUS would raise the toll rates on the North-South Highway in June as reported earlier.

Referring to the BN manifesto, Fadillah said it only involved two highways namely the PLUS Highway and the East Coast Expressway (LPT).

He said only these two highways linked the towns and the states, while the other highways in the Klang Valley were not included in the manifesto.

However, he said the government took measures to help the people in towns who were burdened by the toll charges including terminating the toll collection for certain roads besides encouraging the concession companies to implement rebate and discount programmes for consumers.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby, Fadillah said the government was reviewing the concession agreements by taking into consideration the traffic volume, concession companies' financial situation and some other factors, before deciding anything on toll rates.

He said besides PLUS and LPT, six other highways were entitled to increase toll rates by January this year based on their respective concession agreements.