PRESENT POINT POWER

Following closely to the heels of the disclosure that Lembah Sari (see previous post on Aug 15 06) has taken over Kod Efisen for the labeling of locally produced Cigarettes and Beer for a concession of 3 years, TheEDGE Daily has reported another feather in the cap for Haris Onn Hussein the youngest son of the Third Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn and the youngest brother of the Education Minister Datum Hussein Onn.

Insert the new "Toll King" - Haris Onn Hussein in the Jalan Duta Interchange

Again the question is asked how the well connected are given the privileged to get this concession. Still no change in policy for PM Abdullah clarion calls for a open and equitable society? No open tendering process? Still a closed process by appointment only?

Now why 34 years of concession? Apparently it takes 4 years to construct and 30 years to cross his legs and collect toll to last for at least 3 generations for Haris Hussein family? Of course he does not take all the toll; other venture (or vulture) companies like Kesturi, Wira Kristal and MRCB would get their shares.

All these concessions in labeling and tolls can be viewed as “legalized open extortion” all in the name of privatization and “to make traveling easier in and out of the city where the population has reached two million, causing daily massive traffic jams”.

Now why all this greed? One concession is not enough? How many more to take? You cannot take them along for sure.

All worldly pursuits end in sorrow!

All these materials possession are illusionary; closed your eyes and they are “not there”. Perhaps in a later posting, quantum physics can be used to prove that “the world is not the hard and unchangeable thing it may appear to be”.

DUKE highway is elevated from Jalan Duta toll, cut through Changkat Kiara bungalows (land space between the 2 plots of bungalow concrete fence), joining Jalan Kuching interchange and connected to Ulu Kelang.

The only consolation motorists from Sri Damansara, Sg Buloh, Sri Hartamas, Segambut, Sentul, Setiawangsa, Ampang, Ulu Kelang, Gombak, Selayang and Batu Caves would be able to enjoy a free flow ride to and from the city centre

However, Toll plazas will be set up at Kg Batu, Ayer Panas and Sentul Pasar

The Sentu Pasar Interchange TOLL B to Greenwood (Karak Hoghway)

Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd (KESTURI), a joint venture company between MRCB (30%) and Wira Kristal Sdn Bhd (70%) has been awarded a 34 years concession to design, construct, operate and maintain the Lebuhraya Duta - Ulu Kelang (DUKE).

This 18.04km project is divided into 3 sections namely :-

Section 1 - 5.28km, from Jalan Duta Interchange to Sentul Pasar Interchange
Section 2 - 6.13km, from Sentul Pasar Interchange to Hill View Interchange
Section 3 - 6.59km, from Sentul Pasar Interchange to Greenwood Interchange

The AYER PANAS TOLL C Interchange to Jalan Semarak

The DUKE is nearby Changkat View Condominiums at Hartamas/Segambut area, which is selling at affordable price of around RM200 p.s.f

MRCB unit Kesturi to issue RM550m bond for expressway ;2-08-2004: By Doreen Leong

Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd 30% associate Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd (Kesturi) will issue a RM550 million 11-year bond to part-finance the construction of the RM1.16 billion Kuala Lumpur North-East Expressway (KLNEE).

Kesturi, the expressway concessionaire, will also obtain a term loan facility of RM200 million from Bank Pembangunan & Infrastruktur Malaysia Bhd, while the remaining funding will come from its equity.

Speaking to reporters after the signing of the concession agreement with the government in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 12, Kesturi managing director Haris Onn Hussein said the bond issue, to be managed by CIMB Bhd, would be carried out by year-end.

Kesturi is expected to start construction of the 18.6km KLNEE by the end of the year for completion by 2008. Kesturi is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuzen Corporation Bhd, which is 30% owned by MRCB and 70% by Wira Kristal Sdn Bhd.

Bloomberg reported that Wira Kristal is a closely held company controlled by Haris, who is a younger brother of Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein.

The government has awarded the design work, construction, operation and management of KLNEE for a period of 34 years. The highway links the North Klang Valley Expressway to the Middle Ring Road II, and the KL-Karak Highway at Sentul.

Haris estimated that KLNEE would have a traffic volume of between 40,000 and 60,000 vehicles daily when it opened for traffic.

He proposed to rename KLNEE to Duke Expressway, short for Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway, to better reflect the positioning of the expressway.

“To minimise land acquisition, a large portion of the expressway will be built on viaduct or bridge structures. In fact, only 20% of the land acquisition shall involve private land,” he added.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu, who witnessed the signing ceremony, said the land acquisition cost would amount to RM334 million. It is learnt that more than 2,000 squatter families need to be relocated.

Proposed RM1.166 Billion KL North-East Expressway Project Signed

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Construction of the proposed RM1.166 billion KL North-East Expressway (KLNEE) spanning 18 kilometres will commence at the end of the year and expected to be completed by 2008, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Thursday.

He said that the privatised expressway was expected to make travelling easier in and out of the city where the population has reached two million, causing daily massive traffic jams.

The privatised intra-urban KLNEE will begin from the North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) starting at Jalan Duta and terminate at the Middle Ring Road (MRR) 11 at Ulu Kelang in the east and Batu Caves in the north.

Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd (Kesturi), a partnership between Wira Kristal Sdn Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) Thursday, signed a 34-year concession agreement with the government to undertake the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the proposed KLNEE.

Samy Vellu said that the cost of the expressway includes RM334 million in land acquisition costs and would take about three years to complete.

It will have seven interchanges and four directional ramps. Toll plazas will be set up at Kg Batu, Ayer Panas and Sentul Panas. (see maps)

The proposed KLNEE was a vital link for the intermediate ring road in the KL road master plan, the minister said after witnessing the signing of the agreement between the concessionaire and the government.

Signing for KLNEE was its managing director, Haris Onn Hussein, while Works Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Ahmad Dhaman Huri Mohamed Ali signed for the government.

Also present was Deputy Works Minister Datuk Ir Mohamed Zin Mohamed and MRCB chairman Datuk Seri Syed Anwar Jamalullail.

The concessionary period for the expressway, designed to a speed of 90 kph, includes four years of construction.

Samy Vellu also said that this link was a vital East-West route for the Northern KL region, allowing traffic to bypass the city centre.

It would also act as a dispersal scheme to disperse city traffic to the suburbs through connections to major radial roads such as Jalan Segambut, Jalan Kuching, Jalan Sentul, Jalan Semarak, Jalan Setiawangsa, Jalan 37/56 and Jalan Kg Bandar Dalam.

Haris Onn said that Kesturi would finance the project through a 11-year bond issue worth RM500 million, a loan facility from Bank Pembangunan for RM200 million and the remainder through equity.

The bond issue would commence at the end of the year while the loan would span 15 years, he said.

He also said that the proposed expressway would feature advanced traffic information and management system (MIS), and be equipped with modern facilities such as variable messaging signs (VMS), central control and monitoring and electronic tolling.

To identify more accurately with the expressway, Haris Onn suggested it be known as DUKE, the acronym for the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway, which is the exact route the road would take.

He said that DUKE would be a dual four-lane expressway from the Duta Interchange to the Kuching Interchange, where traffic volume was expected to be high while the remaining stretches would be built to a dual three-carriageway.

Through DUKE, motorists from Sri Damansara, Sg Buloh, Sri Hartamas, Segambut, Sentul, Setiawangsa, Ampang, Ulu Kelang, Gombak, Selayang and Batu Caves would be able to enjoy a free flow ride to and from the city centre.

To minimise land acquisition, a large portion of the DUKE expressway would be built on viaduct or bridge structures, with only 20 per cent of land acquisition to involve private land.

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