This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 3, 2025 - November 9, 2025

SIX groups have submitted bids for a contract to develop Malaysia’s multibillion-ringgit multi-lane free flow (MLFF) toll collection system, according to sources familiar with the matter. It is understood that the Ministry of Works recently issued a request for proposal (RFP), with the submission deadline closing on Oct 16.

“The RFP was called by the Ministry of Works, and not the Malaysian Highway Authority, for reasons that are unclear. From what we gather, at least four bids were submitted, although there may have been a couple of last-minute entries,” says a source who requested anonymity.

The source adds that the bidders include JustGo Digital Bhd, supported by PLUS Malaysia Bhd and its highway concession companies; Touch ’n Go Sdn Bhd, backed by Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) under Permodalan Nasional Bhd; a joint venture (JV) between Konsortium Jaringan Selangor Sdn Bhd (KJS) and SEP Synergy (M) Sdn Bhd, supported by highways under IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM) and Taliworks Corp Bhd (KL:TALIWRK); and Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Bhd partnering with Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet).

Another source mentions the same four outfits but adds two more names, namely Setel Ventures Sdn Bhd and a JV between a Malaysian royal family and a Qatari consortium using South Korean technology.

With the RFP, the aim is to enable the MLFF toll collection system to be implemented by 2027 and bring to life the plan for a barrier-less toll collection system that was mooted about 20 years ago when the late Tun Samy Vellu was serving his second tenure as works minister from May 1995 to March 2008. The MLFF system is said to provide a smoother traffic flow and less congestion than current systems, which largely use cards or other technologies that require cars to slow down as they pass the toll gates.

JustGo Digital, formerly known as Linkedua (M) Bhd, is wholly owned by PLUS Malaysia, which is part of Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s UEM Group. It is understood that the company plans to use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology linked to e-wallets or credit or debit cards. A pilot project to test the system on the North-South Expressway began in October, but the results have not been disclosed.

The JustGo Digital app is also capable of features such as toll transaction reviews and other services.

PLUS Malaysia operates several major highways, including the North-South Expressway, the North Klang Valley Expressway, the Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, the North-South Expressway Central Link, the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway and the Penang Bridge.

Touch ’n Go is wholly owned by CIMB Digital Assets Sdn Bhd, which is wholly owned by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB), while Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings owns the concessionaires for the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Expressway as well as the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway, and has a controlling 51% stake in Prolintas Infra Business Trust (KL:PLINTAS), the highway asset trust listed on Bursa Malaysia that has under its belt four urban highways — the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway, Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway and Lebuhraya Kemuning-Shah Alam.

Konsortium Jaringan Selangor is wholly owned by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, which in turn is 60% controlled by YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR), with the remaining shares held by Sultan Idris Shah, Bara Aktif Sdn Bhd (held equally by Raja Datuk Wahid Raja Kamaral Zaman) and Bara Aktif Holdings Ltd, while SEP Synergy (M) Sdn Bhd is wholly owned by SEP Capital (M) Sdn Bhd, which is 50% controlled by Maszeallan Mohamad, 45% by Abdullah Sufiyan Mohamed Amir Abas and the remaining 5% by Mohamed Izran Mohamed Al Amin.

Locally, IJM owns Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd, the concessionaire for the Sungai Besi Expressway, New Pantai Expressway Sdn Bhd and Lebuhraya Kajang-Seremban Sdn Bhd, and has a 28.12% stake in WCE Holdings Bhd (KL:WCEHB).

Taliworks owns and operates two highways — the Cheras-Kajang Highway, known as Grand Saga Highway, and the New North Klang Straits Bypass, also referred to as the Grand Sepadu Highway.

PayNet is 35.54% controlled by Bank Negara Malaysia and 11 banks, which hold 5.86% each, namely CIMB, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (KL:ABMB), Hong Leong Bank Bhd (KL:HLBANK), Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (KL:BIMB), Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK), Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK), Affin Bank Bhd (KL:AFFIN), Public Bank Bhd (KL:PBBANK) and AmBank (M) Bhd, wholly owned by AMMB Holdings Bhd (KL:AMBANK).

Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat was established as a private and not-for-profit company, with the specific purpose of undertaking the business of highway concessions. It took over the highway assets of construction giant Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA), namely Kesas Sdn Bhd, Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd, Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (Sprint) and Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir & Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART tunnel), in October 2022, having forked out RM4.26 billion.

Setel Ventures is wholly owned by Petronas Dagangan Bhd (KL:PETDAG), which in turn is 64.94% controlled by national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

At this stage, it is unclear which bidders have an advantage in securing the contract for the MLFF toll collection system.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.