KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 (Bernama) -- LATAR Expressway, linking Kuala Lumpur via
Templer’s Park and Kuala Selangor in 20 minutes, has been considered a good
example of the Islamic Development Bank''s (IDB) financing for major
infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asia region.
"Malaysia’s LATAR Expressway is a good example of a successful IDB project
and a reference point for other member countries," said IDB President Tan Sri Dr
Ahmad Mohamed Ali in a statement today.
Ahamd and the IDB delegation are here for a three-day Malaysia-IDB Group
Business Forum which will be held until May 11, at JW Marriott Hotel.
The IDB provided a RM300 million financing for the construction of the LATAR
Expressway whereby concessionaire KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway Bhd has a 40-year
‘build-operate-transfer’ concession from the government.
According to IDB, its financing terms are known to be one of the most
favourable around.
It provided a safe and secured terms of repayment without being dictated by
adverse effects of foreign currency fluctuations and global turmoils, it added.
IDB participates in equity capital and grants loans for productive projects
and enterprises besides providing financial assistance to member countries in
other forms for economic and social development.
It extends loans for the financing of infrastructural and agricultural
projects such as roads, canals, dams, schools, hospitals, housing and rural
development, both in the public and private sectors.
The financing will have an impact on the economic and social development of
its 56 member countries and are accorded priority by the governments concerned.
LATAR Expressway which officially opened on June 23, 2011, has four
interchanges that provides ready access between the city and West Coast of
Peninsular Malaysia.
These interchanges, linking other highways efficiently, form a network to
facilitate connectivity from Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam and the
townships it serves.
Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the IDB has four regional offices in
Rabat, Morocco (1994); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1994); Almaty, Kazakhstan (1997)
and Dakar, Senegal (2008).
The IDB also has field representatives in 12 member countries namely
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Guinea Conakry, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
-- BERNAMA
MAS MAS NN