KOTA TINGGI: Improving road conditions on three federal routes - FT01, FT03, and FT05 - will be the core focus of the state government once the allocation is received, says Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh.
The Johor Works, Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee chairman said that these roads have not been upgraded or improved for the past four years and need immediate intervention to ensure the safety of road users.
"All of this infrastructure was built more than 30 years ago, and we must remember that the number of vehicles was not as heavy back then.
"So as the state develops, the road usage also increases, and we hope that we will be able to get the allocation from the RM5.2bil grant under the Malaysian Road Record Information System (Marris)," he said.
He said this when met by reporters after visiting the FT1416 Jalan Inas-Kota Tinggi federal road upgrading project, here, on Sunday (Feb 26).
Mohamad Fazli added that he also hoped that the Federal Government would consider providing a larger share of the allocation to the Johor State Government as the state had the majority of federal routes.
"We hope that the Federal Government will also take into account our location, which is right next to our developed neighbour Singapore," he said.
FT01 involves the federal route from Muar-Yong Peng-Johor Baru, FT03 from Mersing-Kota Tinggi-Johor Baru and FT05 involved Muar-Batu Pahat-Pontian-Johor Baru.
The Bukit Pasir assemblyman added that he would also like to thank Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the RM525mil allocation to the state government for upgrading works on the North-South Expressway (NSE) stretching from Yong Peng Utara to Senai Utara, from four lanes to six lanes.
"The government has also agreed to upgrade the highway network to Pengerang by constructing overtaking lanes on the Senai Desaru Expressway (SDE)," he said.
On Friday (Feb 24), Anwar during the tabling of the Budget 2023 announced that the government will improve the highway facilities to Pengerang by constructing an overtaking lane on the SDE.
The Government also agreed to execute in phases the upgrading project of the NSE from Yong Peng Utara to Senai Utara (Phase 1) Johor Baru, from four to six lanes with the cost of RM525mil.
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