Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong said the state plans to engage with Damansara Perdana residents to iron out issues concerning the highway’s alignment before signing off on the project. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa – See more at: http://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/august-start-date-for-dash-on-track-despite-dispute-over-final-mile-selango#sthash.9DzILwNK.qi8lQknI.dpuf
Putrajaya can proceed with construction on the Damansara-Shah Alam Expressway (DASH) highway this August even though the last mile of the highway has yet to receive Selangor’s go-ahead, Elizabeth Wong said.
Wong, a state executive councillor, said the state plans to engage with Damansara Perdana residents to iron out issues concerning the highway’s alignment before signing off on the project, but insisted that regardless the outcome, Putrajaya still has the power to commence construction.
“The highway has been approved from the Shah Alam side. The part where there is the dispute is the last mile, literally the last mile… there’s still the exco decision where there still needs to be continuous engagement.
“They want to start (construction), they can start in Shah Alam first, they can start in other sections with no objections.. but (the final mile) is subject to the discussion that will be happening soon.
“So that we can iron out kinks and settle the issue. That is a federal project, so when they start is up to them,” she told Malay Mail Online when met at the Selangor state secretariat building yesterday after the state government’s monthly meeting with its civil servants.
She added that the Selangor Town and Country Planning Department (JPBD), which has been tasked with engaging with affected residents, was supposed to organise a meeting in March.
“There was supposed to be a meeting they were trying to organise to get the parties involved together.
“It was supposed to be in March obviously it didn’t happen so hopefully, it will soon,” she explained.
Last month, Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said in a written parliamentary reply that the construction of DASH will begin this August if the project is officially gazetted in the Petaling Jaya Local Plan 2 (RTPJ 2).
MBPJ councillor Lee Suet Sen has also confirmed that the Selangor government had already granted approval for DASH, and that the proposed alignment had already been inserted in the RTPJ 2 plan sometime last year.
However, Lee noted that the final stretch of the alignment has been drawn only in dotted lines, indicating that it could still be amended.
The DASH highway plan was previously removed from the RTPJ2 following objection from affected residents and pending further studies into the matter.
DASH will be a 20.1km, three-lane, dual carriageway expressway starting from Puncak Perdana in Shah Alam to the Penchala interchange.
With 12 interchanges, the RM11.5 billion expressway plans to link drivers to Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong and Sprint highways, which residents claim are already congested during peak hours.
However, residents in Damansara Perdana have opposed the highway’s alignment since 2012 as they claim that the highway encroaches on public facilities in the area.
selangoronline.com 
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