KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — The controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) was scrapped last year but recently, plans for the construction of an elevated highway along a similar route as the axed project has surfaced.
The new project has even been given a name, the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link), and appears to be undertaken by a company called PJD Link Holdings Sdn Bhd though little is known about the people behind it or its history.
Public information about the proposed PJD Link is scarce. What is known is largely based on promotional pamphlets said to be distributed to Petaling Jaya residents earlier this week by the company.
Who owns PJD Link Holdings?
According to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), the concession company PJD Link Holdings Sdn Bhd was officially registered on December 8 last year and specialises in surface work on streets, roads, highways, bridges and tunnels.
The directors are listed as Ravendran Sivalingam and Nisha Menon Radha Krishnan. Ravendran is also listed as the secretary for PJD Link Holdings. Little else is publicly available.
When anti-Kidex lobby group Say No to Kidex (SNTK) sought to get more information from the source on Monday, its representatives discovered PJD Link Holding’s office in Dataran Prima as listed on the pamphlets shared the same address as one of the key firms behind Kidex, Emrail Sdn Bhd.
“Following the tip off, Section 14 residents’ association chairman Selve Sugumaran and I went to the address printed on the flyer and confirmed that PJD Link Holdings’ address in fact led us to Emrail. We were cordially met by Emrail’s corporate communications team.
“The details are scant, but it was confirmed that there is a proposal to do the project. Emrail corporate communications spokesperson told us to write in to them to find out about the PJD Link,” SNTK committee member Mak Khuin Weng told Malay Mail Online.
However, Emrail deputy chairman Tan Sri Hari Narayanan claimed to have no knowledge of his company’s involvement with PJD Link Holdings.
“I don’t know, but we are not involved in any highway project. Kidex yes, but that project is no more, so we are not involved. We are not involved. No, no, no,” he said when contacted.
Another spokesman from Emrail contacted by Malay Mail Online said he was not authorised to comment, and neither confirmed nor denied his company’s perceived involvement with the proposed PJD Link.
Similarities to Kidex
The PJD Link expressway is a 34.3km dual-carriage expressway with four lanes and eight interchanges/ramps, according to the information published in the promotional pamphlet sighted by Malay Mail Online.
Similar to Kidex, the new proposed expressway is to act as an alternative to the heavily-trafficked Lebuhraya-Damansara Puchong (LDP), providing access to the fast-growing development corridor connecting Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Puchong, Kinrara and Putrajaya.
The highway will start from the intersection of the North Klang Valley Expressway and link up the townships of Bandar Utama, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Petaling Jaya, Taman Datuk Harun, Taman Medan Baru, Taman Sri Manja and Bandar Kinrara.
It will end at the Bukit Jalil interchange linking road users to a proposed new highway. Eight interchanges will be built to support rapid development along the alignment covering Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Puchong and Bandar Kinrara.
Selangor and PJD Link
The Selangor government has not received any proposal for a new expressway project, Petaling Jaya city councillor Lee Suet Sen said.
“I have checked with the state executive council and no such paper is being presented at the state level. And no such proposal has reached MBPJ,” he told Malay Mail Online.
He stressed that the inclusion of any highway project in Selangor cannot take place without the approval of the local council, and must be done by amending the local council’s blueprint plans.
Lee also cautioned PJD Link Holdings against circulating pamphlets of the highway plan to residents.
“Any proposal without approval from the state and MBPJ should not be circulated among PJ residents.
“This is not ethical and professional as due process should be followed,” he added.
Selangor rejected the Kidex project last year after the developer failed to meet terms set by the state government.
In February 2015, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said his government pulled the plug on Kidex because its developer did not produce relevant supporting studies for its proposal, namely a traffic impact assessment, a social impact assessment and an environmental impact assessment besides failing to reveal the toll rates and full concession agreement.
