KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — The main causes of the delay in the construction of the Lingkaran Tengah Utama (LTU) Expressway Project are land acquisition and post-Covid-19 issues.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said a shortage of workers and the increase in the prices of building materials were also reasons for the delay in the construction of the project, previously known as the Central Spine Road.
“Actually, there is only a slight delay, which is 55.36 per cent compared to the 56.75 per cent projection. So the delay is very slight,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.
He was responding to Senator Mohd Apandi Mohamad’s supplementary question about the factors which contributed to the delay of some segments of the LTU project, and not in accordance with the schedule.
Nanta said his ministry had also taken action to overcome the issues by holding engagement sessions with the agencies involved such as the Department of the Director-General of Lands and Mines as well as related parties in the state government.
“In addition, the government has also approved applications for variation of price (VOP) to help contractors deal with the increase in the price of (building) materials,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Section 5B LTU route from Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Chandan to Kampung Asap as well as the Section 5A Krau Intersection, Raub will be opened to vehicles on June 26.
“It is expected that 500,000 vehicles will pass through this route in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration which is approaching and users will be able to enjoy a time saving of up to 40 minutes during peak hours as they no longer need to go through Bentong and Raub towns.
“The entire Lingkaran Tengah Utama Utama alignment is expected to be fully usable by the public in 2026,” Nanta said.
— Bernama
