http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/4/nation/2939715
&sec=nation

'Open up more on toll deals'
Sunday January 4, 2009

PETALING JAYA: The MCA is urging the Works Ministry to remove the conditions
set for viewing the 16 highway concession agreements.

Information and Communication bureau chief Lee Wei Kiat also said he was
disappointed that only 16 highway agreements were released to public.

"We are further disappointed that documents pertaining to the most
frequently-used highway, the North-South Expressway, were not declassified.

"These toll deals involve multi-million ringgit of taxpayers' money. Hence
the onus is on the Works Ministry to fully disclose all the documents to the
public," he said in a statement.

Lee also took the ministry to task for not allowing the public to make
copies of the documents, saying the two-hour viewing period was too brief.

"These documents are inches thick and it would be impossible for a lay
person to comprehend the entire contents within two hours," he said.

He also hit out at the condition of allowing only five individuals to view
the documents at any one time, saying it defeated the purpose of
declassifying the documents.

He suggested that the ministry publishes the agreements online for the
public to view and obtain a digital copy.

Lee also questioned the ministry for allowing reporters only 30 minutes to
view the documents on the day it was released, saying it prevented them from
fully performing their role of reporting the contents of the agreements.

The highway concession agreements can be viewed at the library of the Works
Ministry on the sixth floor of Block B at the Works Ministry Complex in
Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, Kuala Lumpur, which is open from 9am to 5pm on
weekdays.

The library is closed for lunch from 1pm to 2pm (Mondays to Thursdays), and
from 12.15pm to 2.45pm on Fridays.
____

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/95749

Highway concession agreements revealed
K Pragalath | Jan 2, 09 8:18pm

The highway concession agreements between the government and the nation's
highway operators were made available to the press for a brief period today
prior to them being made public on Jan 5 following their declassification
from the Official Secrets Act 1972.

A total of sixteen highway concession agreements were made available to
the press. The remaining six agreements were not shown. They agreements
disclosed were for the following highways:

Guthrie Corridor, KL-Karak, Kesas, Metramac, Grand Saga, North Klang Sdn
Bhd, Smart, LDP, Prolintas Aklen, New Pantai Expressway, Sprint, Besraya,
Penang Bridge, Silk, Butterworth Outer Ring Highway and Shapadu.

Reporters were initially allowed to snap photographs only and told they were
only allowed to view the documents for a total of 30 minutes.

Photocopying of the documents would only be allowed after they are gazetted
by parliament under the Fee Act. Parliament's next session is next month.

Malaysiakini managed to get some brief details on the concession agreements
during the 30 minutes allocated. Here are some of the points:

Calculations for the concessionaires' agreements are based on this formula:

CA = E [(AT x TV)] - TA

with

CA = Amount of compensation payable in the year
E = Summary of all classes of vehicles
AT = Agreed Toll
TV = Traffic Volume
TA = Toll Amount

Smart Tunnel concession 40 years

For the Kesas highway, the concession period was initially for a period of
28 years and nine months but this was extended by a year.

The government paid the company a total of RM150,000,000 in compensation in
three installments on Dec 31, 2002, Dec 31, 2003 and Dec 31, 2004. The
concession period now ends in 2023.

For the LDP highway, there are three toll gates on this highway - at
Penchala, PJ Selatan and Puchong Barat. The concession period is from 1998
to 2028.

The concession for the Silk highway, meanwhile, signed on Oct 8, 1997 is
effective for a period of 36 years from 2001 to 2036 while the concession
period for the Smart Tunnel is for 40 years. The total cost of construction
for the Smart Tunnel was RM1,933,000,000.

Members of the public who are interested in viewing the concession
agreements would be able to do so at the Reading Room, Library, Sixth Floor,
Ministry of Works, Jalan Sultan Salahudin, Kuala Lumpur from Monday, Jan 5
onwards.

They would be required to fill in a form and they would only be able to view
the documents for a maximum period of two hours. An individual can only view
one document at a time. The library will only allow a maximum of five people
in to view the documents at any one time within office hours.
____

Pix:
http://media1.malaysiakini.com/158/340f265f454b167767cd0f305ff6063c.jpg
http://media1.malaysiakini.com/158/1aadcbf251c9373073e96367bce0398d.jpg
http://media1.malaysiakini.com/158/790c013a7c64f5103dacbe48eca98b1d.jpg
____

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/4/nation/
20090104180418&sec=nation

Gerakan: Declassify all highway concession deals
By SYLVIA LOOI Sunday Jan 4, 2009 MYT 6:06:00 PM

IPOH: Gerakan has joined the chorus urging the Works Ministry not to confine
the declassification of highway concessions to 16 agreements.

Its deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn said it was disappointing that the
agreement for the North-South Expressway (NSE) has not been "opened up."

"The bone of contention among motorists using the NSE is the three-year
automatic toll increase. This had been made an issue every time," he told
reporters after a talk on Islamisation in Malaysia and Indonesia at Wisma
Gerakan here on Sunday.

Chang said PLUS, as the NSE operator, should take into consideration its
social corporate responsibility.

"There is no harm in letting people see the agreement ... so that they can
help solve problems arising from it," he added.

The highway concession agreements can be viewed at the library of the Works
Ministry on the sixth floor of Block B at the Works Ministry Complex in
Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, Kuala Lumpur, which is open from 9am to 5pm on
weekdays.

The library is closed for lunch from 1pm to 2pm (Mondays to Thursdays), and
from 12.15pm to 2.45pm on Fridays.
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