KUALA LUMPUR – The required documents for the Petaling Jaya Dispersal (PJD) Link Highway – its traffic, environmental, and social impact assessments – have already been submitted by the developer to the Selangor government for review.
Selangor Infrastructure, Public Amenities, and Agriculture Modernisation executive councillor Izham Hashim confirmed with The Vibes that the assessments were sent to the state’s PLANMalaysia for evaluation. PLANMalaysia is the town and country planning department.
After evaluation by PLANMalaysia, the reports will be submitted to the Selangor Economic Action Council (MTES), where a meeting is to be held at an undetermined date, Izham said.
“Most likely, the MTES meeting (will be) in two weeks’ time, or after the election,” he told The Vibes, referring to the state election for Selangor, one of six states due to hold polls.
Selangor is expected to dissolve its assembly by June 25. By law, the election must be held within two months of dissolution.
PJD Link was supposed to have submitted the assessments to the Selangor government by April 5, but Izham said they were submitted during an extension period.
It is learnt separately that the documents were submitted on May 6.
Izham, who is Pandan Indah assemblyman, added that the efficacy of the proposed highway cannot be established immediately, and could only be determined after statistics and feedback are reviewed by the state.
“We will only know once (the assessments) are presented to MTES, whether (the numbers) are favourable or not,” he said.
On March 1, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state had yet to approve the project as it had not received any proposals from PJD Link. He said the highway was only approved by the federal government in 2017.
The Selangor government had in September 2020 approved the project “in principle”.
The developer also signed a concession agreement with the federal government in April 2022, and the agreement is classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972.
Petaling Jaya residents who oppose the highway have expressed frustration over the secrecy of the project’s details and its traffic and social impact assessments.
In response to being kept in the dark, residents formed the Say No To PJD Link group and then created their own social impact assessment survey, which was answered by 2,501 residents living along the proposed highway route.
The survey found that 93.6% of respondents are against the privately funded project that aims to connect Bandar Utama to Bukit Jalil as a means to disperse traffic and reduce congestion within Petaling Jaya.
The group of residents have also submitted the survey’s findings, as well as other documentation on protests against the highway, to Selangor’s PLANMalaysia director, and to the federal Environment Department in Putrajaya. – The Vibes , May 23, 2023
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