West Coast Expressway project to create 22,000 jobs: Muhyiddin

TELUK INTAN: The West Coast Expressway project to link Taiping in Perak and Banting in Selangor, stretching 233km at a cost of RM5 billion, will create job opportunities for 22,000 people.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the project would also create permanent employment for more than 2,000 people to manage the expressway.

The mammoth project, scheduled to be ready in five years, is proof of the government’s capability to provide infrastructure facilities for the people and the country’s development, he said.

He was speaking at the ground breaking ceremony for the project at the Teluk Intan-Setiawan bridge yesterday.

Also present were Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Muhyiddin said the project would act as a catalyst for economic activities, besides providing communication network, accessibility and mobility for the coastal areas of the west coast.

“Implementation of the project is in line with the federal government’s aspiration to bridge the economic gap and development between the urban and rural areas,” he said.

He said the project, which is a process of rapid development, would create new growth areas.

Muhyiddin said he was informed that the price of land along the project site had surged, adding that this was one of the development benefits enjoyed by people.

As such, he advised quarters against exploiting the project for purpose of getting votes for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election.

Meanwhile, Fadzillah said the project would be developed by West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd and construction would begin in Perak as expressway alignment in Selangor has yet to be finalised. — Bernama


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 26, 2014.