KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): The toll collection for Section 1 of the West Coast Expressway (WCE), which connects the Banting Interchange to the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE) Interchange, will commence next Monday (Sept 30), according to WCE Holdings Bhd (KL:WCEHB).
The 12.5km stretch, which was officially opened by Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi on Aug 31, has been operating toll-free for a month.
"The toll rates for WCE Section 1 are fully integrated with the SKVE via the Tanjung Dua Belas Interchange. The rates consider the entire journey of users, including the portion travelled on the SKVE," WCE Holdings said in a statement on Friday.
The WCE project involves the development of a 233km tolled highway from Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak. Seven out of the highway's 11 sections have been opened for traffic.
The construction of Section 2 (SKVE–Shah Alam Expressway or Kesas) has been completed and is currently at the inspection stage. The section is targeted to be opened by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the construction for the final three sections namely, Section 3 (Kesas–Federal Highway Route 2), Section 4 (Federal Highway Route 2–New North South Klang Straits Bypass) and Section 7 (Assam Jawa–Tanjung Karang) is currently ongoing.
WCE Holdings logged its fifth consecutive quarterly net loss during its first financial quarter ended June 30, 2024 (1QFY2025), primarily due to interest expense incurred in relation to project financing for completed sections of the highway.
Quarterly net loss was recorded at RM25.86 million, compared with a net loss of RM26.41 million in 1QFY2024, as revenue fell 34.9% to RM75.57 million from RM116.04 million.
Despite the net loss, the group recorded an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM18.1 million for 1QFY2025, an increase of 147% compared with RM7.3 million in 1QFY2024, indicating that the group is profitable at the operating level.
The group's toll collection revenue during the quarter surged 93% year-on-year to RM26.1 million mainly due to higher traffic volume after the opening of the additional sections, namely Section 6 (Bandar Bukit Raja Utara–Assam Jawa) and Section 11 (Beruas–Taiping Selatan).
Shares in WCE Holdings settled half a sen higher at 81 sen on Friday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.41 billion.