60% of federal roads 'expired', in need of repair, says minister

About 60% of federal roads in the country have expired service lives and need to be repaired with an allocation of approximately RM3 billion, says Works Minister Fadillah Yusof.

Considering the high cost involved, he said the ministry was negotiating with the concessionaires and getting feedback from the rest of the ministries to plan for the construction and repair of the roads that had expired.

"That's why we want to work with several parties. Our approach is diverse but the important thing is that we have to build new roads so that the comfort and safety of users is guaranteed," he told reporters in Puncak Alam today.

Meanwhile, Fadillah said an additional allocation of RM130 million had been approved by the finance ministry on Sept 13 for the periodic maintenance of pavements on federal roads throughout the country.

He said the allocations had been offered to contractors in Peninsular Malaysia through 180 jobs worth RM113 million while RM17 million was channelled to contractors in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan through 17 jobs.

"All of these jobs are expected to be completed within a month and a half or in November," he said.