SHAH ALAM – The Selangor state government will focus on increasing public transportation options for residents in Taman Medan after cancelling the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) elevated highway project.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state government will look at public transport options to help ease the traffic congestion in the area, including the Bus Rapid Transit service.
“We are improving public transport especially by increasing the BRT, and so on,” he said at a press conference, here today.
The PJD Link would have been a 25.4km dual-carriage elevated highway involving four lanes to link northern and southern areas of Petaling Jaya.
The highway route was planned to start after the New Klang Valley Expressway Toll Plaza (NKVE) at the Sprint expressway, Damansara and end at the Bukit Jalil Expressway Junction.
In addition to NKVE and Sprint, PJD Link will have main connections with four other highways, namely the Federal Highway, New Pantai Expressway (NPE), Shah Alam Highway (Kesas) and Bukit Jalil Highway.
Plans for the federal project over state land had been in the works over the past few years after Putrajaya approved it in principle in November 2017.
The cabinet decided to pull the plug on the highway project last month following opposition – mostly from more affluent neighbourhoods in Petaling Jaya.
However, there had also been support for the project from communities in Taman Medan, Kinrara, Kampung Kayu Ara, and Kampung Melayu Petaling Jaya.
Business groups, including Bumiputera contractors, said they supported the RM4.4 billion project, as it was estimated that it would create around 12,000 jobs.
Scoop previously reported that the federal government could have to pay up to RM100 million in compensation to the developer due to the decision to bin the project.
However, when asked about this today, Amirudin said briefly: “That’s the proposal of the opposition representative (Taman Medan assemblyman) Dr Afif Bahardin to cause trouble for the state government.” – May 3, 2024