Section 11 Of West Coast Expressway Set To Open In Q1, 2024

TAIPING, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- Section 11 of the West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Beruas to Taiping (South) is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of this year, at the latest in April.

Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Deputy Director-General (Development) Dr Nadzrol Fadzilah Ahmad said efforts are being made to commission the section before Chinese New Year, but she is confident that it can be operational before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

"The aim is to help people avoid congestion, but it is still subjective because safety is our priority,” she said at a press conference here today.

Earlier, the Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, together with state executive councillors had taken a tour to inspect the construction of the WCE project.

 She also pointed out that the toll booths will be opened for free use as usual for a certain time.

 Meanwhile, West Coast Expressway (WCE) Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Lyndon Alfred Felix said that construction progress had reached 98 per cent by Dec 31, last year.

"We are now entering the inspection, supervision and certification phase by LLM. We have to go through these phases before this section can be opened to all road users," he added.

 Saarani said the WCE project was crucial as it was a strategic route to expand the transport network, not only between cities and districts, but also to connect Perak to economic growth centres – starting with Port Klang, Lumut Port and Penang Port.

 This route is also important because it is a catalyst for Perak's plan to drive socio-economic growth along the west coast and transform Perak's tourism landscape by facilitating access to strategic destinations in line with the Visit Perak Year 2024 campaign.

 "When it opens later, road users will have alternative routes to the existing roads to areas on the west coast of Perak such as Teluk Intan, Manjung, Pulau Pangkor, Beruas, Trong, Changkat Jering and Taiping," he added.

 The project, which is being undertaken by West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd under a privatisation initiative, connects Taiping and Banting, Selangor, and has a total length of 233km

To date, five of the total 11 sections of WCE expressway routes have been opened to traffic namely Section 5 (Klang-Kapar) and Section 6 (Kapar-Assam Java) in Selangor while Section 8 (Hutan Melintang-Teluk Intan), Section 9 (Kampung Lekir-Changkat Cermin) and Section 10 (Changkat Cermin-Beruas) in Perak.

 Section 11 (Beruas–South Taiping), spanning 35.5 km, is a completion to the WCE section in the state of Perak.

 -- BERNAMA