PETALING JAYA: The Selangor government’s announcement on the cancellation of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) took everyone by surprise as Kidex Sdn Bhd had been given a nine-month extension from Feb 15 to fulfil conditions under its concession agreement.
For residents such as Dr Anthony Lawrence, Mentri Besar’s Azmin Ali’s press statement came as a huge relief after the earlier bad news.
“It is a relief to read that the state government is not entertaining the project.
“When they remove any mention of the highway from the Selangor Structure Plan 2035 draft, we can all rest easy,” he added.
Section 5 resident Rafiq believes Kidex could have eased traffic jams.
A Jalan 17/24 resident who only wanted to be known as Mrs Chen, however expressed some scepticism.
“I am more than happy to hear the state has cancelled it, but is this just a delaying move or is it final? What if the Federal Government still wants to push it through?” she asked.
In the wake of the joy expressed by Petaling Jaya residents over Kidex’s cancellation, others are asking how Azmin will apply the same conditions for other proposed highways in Selangor.
Anti-highway group Say No To Dash (SNTD), formed in response to the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (Dash), hoped for similar good news.
It said that Dash’s concessionaire Prolintas had not engaged residents in Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara affected by the proposed highway.
SNTD, which met with Azmin on Dec 16 to present their case as well, said they were told that he would meet with the Malaysian Highways Authority (LLM) and Prolintas to express residents’ concerns about Dash.
In a shock announcement on Jan 25 however, the Works Ministry had announced the approval of Dash, backdated to the expressway’s concession agreement expiry date on Dec 25.
Taking a leaf from the Independent Review on Kidex report, SNTD has also sent in a written request to Petaling Jaya deputy mayor to conduct an independent review on Dash, especially on the expressway’s third Damansara segment.
However, not everyone greeted the news with joy. Section 5 resident Mohamed Rafiq Fazal Din for one is disappointed that Kidex has been cancelled.
“A lot of motorists are currently using residential roads in areas like Section 5, Taman Sentosa and Kawasan Melayu to avoid traffic congestion.
“Kidex is not a genie to take away traffic, but at least those driving through PJ would have taken that highway to get to their destinations on the other side of the Klang Valley,” said Rafiq Fazal.
Keyword: News of Kidex cancellation met with joy and scepticism