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60,000 daily traffic volume seen for new highway

SELAYANG: LATAR Expressway (KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway), to be open to the public before the month ends, will see an initial average daily traffic volume of over 60,000 vehicles.

The concessionaire of the highway, KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway Bhd, is jointly owned by Bina Puri Holdings Bhd and Arena Irama Sdn Bhd.

“For the first 10 years, our projected traffic growth is an average of 5%. The ramp-up period for this expressway will be between seven and nine years,” KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway Bhd chief executive officer Amran Amir said yesterday during a media tour.

The breakeven duration for LATAR Expressway will be between 15 and 20 years.

When asked why the gestation period for the highway was longer than the average gestation of between eight and 10 years for other highways, Amran attributed it to the route alignment of the expressway.

“This is like a Catch 22 whether to build a highway to cater for existing development in an area or to build the highway first to spur development. In this case, it's the latter,” he said.

The highway is expected to boost development along the corridor and create new townships.

“This should bring in new traffic thereafter. Other factors that would bring in new traffic for this highway include the development of the West Coast Highway and the proposed KL Outer Ring Road (KLORR),” said Amran.

LATAR Expressway is a dual carriageway measuring 33km linking KL from Templer's Park in Gombak to Ijok in Kuala Selangor.

“Roughly half of the highway is in the Gombak district while the remaining half is in the Kuala Selangor district. It takes 18 minutes to reach from one end of the highway to the other end,” said Amran.

The expressway comprises four interchanges, at Ijok, Puncak Alam, Kuang and Templer's Park, and toll rates of the highway will be announced by the Works Minister within this week.

The highway serves several townships such as Kuala Selangor, Assam Jawa, Ijok, Bestari Jaya (Batang Berjuntai), Kota Puteri, Puncak Alam, Shah Alam, Bukit Jelutong, Sungai Buloh, Kundang, Rawang and Selayang.

LATAR Expressway is a privatisation project by the Government under the build-operate-transfer system. The concession agreement was awarded in November 1997 but the project did not take off owing to the Asian financial crisis.

A supplementary agreement was then signed in February 2008 for a concession period of 40 years (inclusive of a three-year construction period) with works on the highway having begun October 2008.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists can enjoy a free drive on the new Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor (Latar) Expressway until Aug 31.

The 33km expressway linking Templer's Park in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur to Ijok in Kuala Selangor, was opened at midnight last night.

Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor, who launched the RM958 million expressway yesterday, said it would cut travelling time from here to Ijok by 30 minutes from the current 90

Present were Works Ministry secretary-general Datuk Thomas George, Malaysia Highway Board (LLM) chairman Datuk Syed Jamal Syed Jaafar, LLM director-general Datuk Ir Ismail Md Salleh, KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway Bhd chairman Datuk Ir Mohamad Razali Othman and Public Work Department director-general Datuk Ir Mohd Noor Yaacob.

The expressway, to be managed by KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway for 40 years, has four interchanges at Ijok, Puncak Alam, Kuang and Templer's Park.

Shaziman said Class 1 vehicles would pay RM2 each at the three toll plazas along the stretch.

Class 2 vehicles have to pay RM4, Class 3 vehicles pay RM6, Class 4 (taxis) RM1 and Class 5 (buses) RM4.

The three toll plazas are Assam Jawa, Kuang Barat and Taman Rimba Templer Park.

The expressway serves several townships such as Kuala Selangor, Assam Jawa, Ijok, Bestari Jaya (Batang Berjuntai), Kota Puteri, Puncak Alam, Shah Alam, Bukit Jelutong, Sungai Buloh, Kundang, Rawang and Selayang.

Shaziman said the Latar Expressway would also be linked to the West Cost Expressway.

"When the West Cost Expressway is completed, users can continue their journey until the Changkat Jering interchange of the North-South Expressway through the west coast of Perak.

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