KUALA LUMPUR – With the government’s abrupt cancellation of the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway project, the looming question is whether the government will pay compensation to the developer.
Talks are rife that the compensation for the halted project could soar to a staggering RM100 million.
This was discussed in the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast, where Shahril Hamdan and his co-host, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, delved into the project’s discontinuation.
Shahril, who is former Umno information chief, said it is customary for compensation to be paid when a project is cancelled. He cited the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail as an example, where compensation was paid to the Singapore government.
He said that costs have been incurred from the viewpoint of the PJD Link developers, who have taken various actions as requested by the government to ensure project compliance with the concession agreement. This includes hiring consultants, planning, and designing, for example.
“When you (cancel) something, you have to pay up…this because a concession agreement was signed.
“The developer did everything the government asked…fulfilling some of the 11 government requirements, including the environment impact assessment, social impact assessment, and transport impact assessment reports – all of which received approval.
“Afterwards, the developer was asked to realign the highway to bypass areas where residents opposed.
“Despite requesting an extension on the concession agreement by the developer to further discuss realignment efforts, the project was halted because the agreement had expired,” he said.
It was reported last year that PJD Link Sdn Bhd had also signed an agreement with MCC Overseas (M) Sdn Bhd for project financing amounting RM922 million.
Last year, before the state election in August, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the Pakatan Harapan state government decided to scrap the PJD Link project.
He said the impact assessment reports submitted by the developer were not satisfactory and did not meet certain conditions set by the state government, particularly its social impact assessment report.
Shahril also said it is important for the government to be transparent with the people if there is a compensation amount that will be paid to the developer – and if yes, how much is involved.
“You want to cancel the project to please a certain group of voters. Perhaps, you thought it was the best thing to do.
“But be transparent, because the people deserve to know,” he said.
Recently, Perikatan Nasional’s Taman Medan assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin said the government allegedly has to pay RM100 million in compensation to the developer following the project’s discontinuation.
In a TikTok video recently, Afif said there were no alternatives for residents of Taman Medan to deal with their daily traffic congestion now that the project has been cancelled.
The PJD Link, with 11 interchanges, would have connected Bandar Utama to Bukit Jalil as a means to disperse traffic and reduce congestion within Petaling Jaya.
PJD Link’s cancellation was announced by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who is also the unity government spokesperson, on April 17 – citing the project developer’s failure to meet six of the 11 conditions set.
The next day, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said it was not clear whether the government needed to compensate the developer for the cancellation. – April 23, 2024