ALR highway acquisition to keep concession extension to a minimum

Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat’s proposal to acquire four highway concessionaires in the Klang Valley will see the concession period get extended slightly, but at no increase in cost to the public.

According to a new report by The Malay Mail, ALR said the takeover – which has a total enterprise value of RM5.48 billion – aims to minimise the duration of the extension before returning the concessions back to Putrajaya. ALR also said its shareholders do not require any equity return and are not entitled to dividends. This improves cash flow, too.

“As a consequence, there is no need to prolong the concession period once all of ALR’s debts have been fully repaid. Notably, as the existing vendors of the concession companies are commercial entities in nature, such a ‘non-profit’ orientation is not viable under the current ownership structure. Hence, the proposal is for ALR to acquire the concession companies,” ALR said in a statement.

It also emphasised its independence of both the government and existing shareholders of the four concessionaires, adding that ALR does not have any political affiliations. ALR shareholders and board of directors include Tan Sri Azlan Mohd Zainol, Datuk Idrose Mohamed, Datuk Soam Heng Choon, Datuk Dr Nirmala Menon and Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi.

“With humility, we hope that our collective track record in the public and private sector would be a testament to our affirmations above and our sincere intentions to facilitate the toll restructuring for the benefit of all stakeholders involved,” it added.

On April 4, ALR made a conditional offer to acquire four highway concessionaires in the Klang Valley, those being Kesas Sdn Bhd (Kesas Expressway), Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART Tunnel), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (SPRINT Expressway), and Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Damansara-Puchong Expressway or LDP). The offer remains open for acceptance until April 30, 2022.

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