Dispute over land stalls completion of key highway in Malaysia

Originally slated to be completed by 2019, it is meant to ease North-South Expressway jam

- Hazlin Hassan

The continued delay to the West Coast Expressway (WCE) has led to longer travel time for heavy vehicles and threatens to undermine investor confidence in Malaysia's ability to deliver infrastructure projects on schedule, said the Association of Malaysian Hauliers on Sept 26.

Announced in 2012 with an estimated cost of RM7.07 billion (S$2.16 billion), the WCE aims to connect major coastal towns along Peninsular Malaysia from Banting in Selangor to Taiping in Perak.

Originally slated for completion by 2019, the highway was intended to ease congestion on the North-South Expressway and boost links to Port Klang, one of the busiest container terminals in Southeast Asia.

But the project has missed several completion deadlines, partly because of land acquisition issues. While the 233km highway is about 95 per cent complete and in operation, it is still not fully ready because of an unresolved fight over a 150m stretch of land in Kampung Jawa, a village in Klang district.

Although this is the only land dispute linked to the WCE that is unresolved, another section of the highway — around 30km long - is also yet to be completed because of soft soil conditions. The highway is now expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The dispute centres on some 1.8ha of land in Kampung Jawa. While the federal government has acquired the land, 19 landowners are contesting the compensation offered to them.

Just across the main road from Kampung Jawa, the half-built WCE has a flyover that rises before ending abruptly in midair. Roadworks are ongoing along the main road nearby.