JOHOR BARU: The Works Ministry aims to introduce a third phase of the expansion project on the North-South Expressway (NSE) from Simpang Renggam to Yong Peng Utara, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

The Deputy Works Minister said the third phase would cover a 41km stretch, with an estimated development cost of RM1bil.

He hoped the Finance Ministry would announce a special allocation for the project in Budget 2025 next month.

“The first phase of the expansion has already begun, involving road widening from four to six lanes between Senai Utara and Sedenak, costing RM525mil.

“The second phase, from Sedenak to Simpang Renggam, was announced by our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during last year’s Budget announcement with a cost of RM505mil.

“We are hopeful for a third phase from Simpang Renggam to Yong Peng Utara,” he told reporters after the opening ceremony of the Highway Concession Conference (HCC) 2024 at a hotel here on Tuesday (Sept 17).

Ahmad said the third phase could be divided into two stages: from Simpang Renggam to Ayer Hitam next year, followed by Ayer Hitam to Yong Peng Utara the following year.

“This way, we can split the RM1bil cost into RM500mil per year,” he added.

Ahmad also said he had urged PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) and other highway concessionaires to employ artificial intelligence (AI) in tackling congestion issues on highways, particularly during long weekends and public holidays.

“There must be a solution. We cannot use the increasing number of vehicles as an excuse. We need to find answers.

“Perhaps we could add more smart lanes or extend the operating hours of existing ones, but this is not a long-term solution as many of these lanes cover only short distances.

“We could also consider introducing a contra flow lane, where we close one lane on the less busy side of the road to allow vehicles on the busier side to pass,” he suggested.

He added that currently, there are 18 smart lanes nationwide.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/09/17/rm1bil-needed-for-third-phase-of-nse-expansion-in-johor