Putrajaya can afford RM50b to scrap highway tolls, says Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — DAP’s Lim Guan Eng today denounced the federal government for striking a lopsided deal that benefitted highway toll companies without public consultation, arguing that it could afford to pay RM50 billion to abolish the concessions.

The Penang chief minister accused Putrajaya of “victimising” Penangites when it decided to extend the length of toll charges for two highway companies for another 17 years in exchange for not raising the rates by only 10 per cent.

He argued that if Penangites were given a choice, they would have rather paid the 15 to 25 per cent hikes every five years until 2021, compared to forking over money until 2038 to use the Penang Bridge and the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE).