KUALA LUMPUR – The companies that have received conditional approval for the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Elevated Highway (PJD Link) must submit the relevant impact assessments within a year of their concession agreement, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the minister assured the project’s opponents that PJD Link would need to have approval from the state government and Works Ministry before it can proceed.
This came after Fadillah met with “Say No To PJD Link” representatives who are rallying against the controversial highway.
During the meeting, the minister gave a detailed explanation regarding the proposed implementation of the PJD Link project to the representatives.
Fadillah also expressed the government’s commitment to ensuring that the companies which have proposed the project carry out the environmental, traffic and and social impact assessments in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the concession agreement.
The impact assessments must be submitted by April 5, 2023, as the concession agreement for the project was signed on April 5 this year.
The developers of PJD Link have also been told to hold dialogue sessions with residents and other stakeholders.
PJD Link is a 34.3-km expressway set to begin from the NKVE toll plaza in Damansara and end at the Bukit Jalil highway interchange.
The project’s critics have previously said that PJD Link is the new name of the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) that had been scrapped previously back in 2015.
In late June, a group of long-time Petaling Jaya residents staged a peaceful protest in front of the Selangor state secretariat complex over the PJD Link development.
The protesters noted the tolled expressway, which cuts through established neighbourhoods, is ultimately destructive for local residents and unlikely to alleviate traffic woes. – The Vibes, August 2, 2022
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