JOHOR BAHRU (June 20): The North-South Expressway (NSE) expansion project from four to six lanes between Senai Utara and Sedenak, set to commence at the end of this month, will not disrupt traffic flow.

Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) chairman Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad said the existing two lanes in both directions would remain open to road users during the upgrade works.

“The construction of the third lane may pose challenges, especially for heavy vehicles, as the road will become slightly narrower,” he told reporters after the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between Paragon Globe Berhad and UOB Malaysia here on Thursday.

He said MHA would issue the Letter of Acceptance to the successful contractor soon, with the first and second phases of the first package expected to take 36 months to complete for both directions.

Regarding the Senai Desaru Expressway expansion project, Hasni said the upgrade works were also expected to start at the end of this month.

“The duration of this project is 24 months. The highway, currently two lanes in both directions, will be expanded to four lanes. We will finalise the contractor appointment soon,” said the former Johor Menteri Besar.

When tabling the Budget 2024 in October last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the NSE expansion project from four to six lanes would be extended from Sedenak to Simpang Renggam, with a cost of RM931 million.

Currently, the six to eight-lane stretch on the NSE from Kuala Lumpur to the south ends in Melaka.

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