MANJUNG: The inspection work on Section 11 of the West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Beruas to Taiping (South) has reached up to 50 per cent.
West Coast Expressway (WCE) Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Lyndon Alfred Felix said that the inspection work done by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) and other related agencies was crucial before it could be opened to road users.
"We are expecting Section 11 to be opened soon. The construction has been completed and now, LLM and other agencies are doing the final inspection.
"It will not be opened before Chinese New Year, but I am confident that we can open this section by the first quarter of this year," he said.
Lyndon said this after the Road Safety Awareness Programme for Chinese New Year at WCE's Lekir Toll Plaza here today.
The programme was launched by Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri.
Section 11 which is 35.5km-long and complements the WCE Expressway line in the state section.
Lyndon said that his main objective was to make sure the highway system is stable and road safety is guaranteed at 100 per cent.
"So before we can open this section, we need to ensure that these two objectives are achieved.
"Once the inspection work is done, only then we can get a green light from LLM to open this section," he said.
It was reported on Jan 17 that Section 11 would be opened to road users before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
LLM deputy director-general (Development) Ir Ts Dr Nadzrol Fadzilah Ahmad said the agency needed to ensure that the expressway was safe before opening it.
Up to today, five of the 11 sections of WCE expressway routes have been opened to traffic, namely Section 5 (Klang-Kapar) and Section 6 (Kapar-Assam Java) in Selangor, and Section 8 (Hutan Melintang-Teluk Intan), Section 9 (Kg Lekir-Changkat Cermin) and Section 10 (Changkat Mirror-Beruas) in Perak.
The highway begins from Banting, Selangor, and ends in Changkat Jering, Perak, connecting major towns in the two west coast states.