Four highways operated by the Amanah Lebuhraya Rakyat Berhad (ALR) will not experience toll rate increases until their respective concession periods end, reports The Star. The highways involved are the Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS), Sprint Expressway, Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Road Tunnel and Flood Water Management (SMART).
According to ALR Group CEO Sazally Saidi, the move will generate approximately between RM800 million to RM1 billion in direct savings for highway users and the government in terms of toll compensation.
ALR was established at the end of 2021 as a private, non-profit entity, with the special purpose of accelerating the shortened concession period and returning the four highways involved to the Malaysian government. In October 2022, ALR completed the acquisition of all securities of the four highway concession companies – KESAS, Sprint, Litrak and SMART – that manage this highway. The same month also saw ALR successfully issue murabahah sukuk worth RM5.5 billion to finance the acquisition.
Group Chief Corporate and Transformation Officer, Low Jo-Lyn said the current toll rate for the four highways involved is expected to be maintained for at least the next 10 years. "The ALR sukuk issued in 2022 has a maturity period of 15 years but the more traffic on our highway, the shorter the concession. Therefore, it is predicted that ALR should be able to repay the sukuk by 2033 or 2034," explained Low.
It also revealed that the early settlement of the sukuk will shorten the toll concession to the government and the company structure is expected to generate an estimated RM500 million in direct savings a year from the highway group for users.
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