Kidex boss in ‘creative maths’ to justify highway, says DAP rep
A Selangor DAP state assemblyperson today accused the company behind the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) of using “creative mathematics” to justify the controversial project.
Damansara Utama state representative Yeo Bee Yin (pic) said Kidex Sdn Bhd had also failed to show traffic projection on all the local roads affected by the highway, which has riled up Petaling Jaya residents over pollution and traffic issues.
"By showing only the roads with 20-30% traffic reduction is akin to a retailer putting up the label 'sales up to 70%' at the window display but actually only a few items in the shop are subject to the discount," said Yeo, who had previously said that the new highway could only ease congestion by 5.84%.
Yeo said Kidex chief executive officer Dr Shaharizuan Shafiei’s “selective reference” in citing only roads with traffic reduction proved that the company could not be trusted.
Yesterday, Shaharizuan said that when complete, Kidex would cut the traffic on 16 local roads by 20% to 30% as well as on 23 local roads by year 2028.
However, Yeo said the traffic impact assessment which listed 43 local roads, also noted that there would be some roads that would experience increase in traffic.
She added that to measure the overall impact, the traffic projection of all the roads must be taken into account and not only some of them.
She said that Shaharizuan did not cite the roads that would experience higher traffic, such as Jalan Bukit Jalil Indah (233%), Jalan Changgai (109%) , Jalan Sultan (58%) and Jalan Barat (35%).
She also hit out at the concessionaire for taking nine months to send the preliminary Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) report, saying that it proved that the “company had something to hide”.
Yeo said that based on the report, there was only a 5.8% overall reduction in 2018 and 3% overall reduction in 2028.
"Kidex’s attempt to use ‘creative mathematics’ with selective reference to reduction in traffic shows that it is untrustworthy.
"And such a deceitful and untrustworthy developer should not be entrusted to build an elevated highway that cuts through a mature township, incurring the highest construction cost per kilometre, and costs more than RM3 billion of the public’s money," she added.
Putrajaya has given Kidex approval "in principle" to go ahead with the project.
Petaling Jaya residents have opposed the project and claim it will cause more traffic gridlock, pollute the surroundings and endanger schoolchildren.
The preliminary TIA showed traffic projections for two different periods – 2018, when the project is scheduled to be completed and 2028, 10 years after its been in place.
The estimates were based on traffic along 43 roads in PJ, which includes the area's biggest and busiest.
The report estimates that in 2018, traffic on those 43 roads in PJ would total 1,545,553 passenger car units (PCU) if Kidex is not built. If Kidex is built, total traffic would be 1,455,310 PCU.
The report also estimates that in 2028, there will be 1,917,040 cars in PJ if Kidex is not built, whereas if the highway is built, there would be 1,858,531 cars.
The project is being developed by a company owned by an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi. – June 13, 2014.
