Driving growth on west coast

ONLY 20 minutes – that’s the total travel time for motorists heading from Beruas to Changkat Jering, both in Perak, when using the West Coast Expressway (WCE) during off-peak hours.

This will certainly be music to the ears of those plying the coastal route, especially since this 35.5km stretch will be toll-free until May 11.

Known as Section 11, this stretch is part of the 233km-long coastal highway from the Banting Selangor Toll Plaza to the Taiping Selatan Toll Plaza in Perak.

WCE is designed to help reduce congestion on the North-South Expressway (NSE).

The West Coast Expressway 24-hour highway patrol assists motorists during a breakdown or accident.

It is also expected to act as an economic catalyst for Peninsular Malaysia’s western coast.

WCE was launched by Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad on March 11.

Nanta said a lot of good would come out of the RM5.044bil project which had taken two decades to realise.

“The western coast is known for its seafood, micro to medium- sized enterprises, Lumut Port and tourist destinations like Teluk Intan and Pulau Pangkor.

The West Coast Expressway traffic management centre at their Selangor headquarters which does real-time monitoring.

“The WCE will certainly provide easier accessibility and improve the lives of the local population.

“Systematic and effective road networks will lead to the expansion of economic growth,” added Nanta.

During the Perak state assembly sitting in February, Saarani had said that the state government had set up an economic growth committee to plan developments along the WCE alignment.

“The development will involve five districts, namely Bagan Datuk, Hilir Perak, Perak Tengah, Manjung as well as Larut, Matang and Selama,” said Saarani.

They will involve projects like housing, agriculture, aquaculture, commercial and industrial development as well as tourism.

“Currently, in areas surrounding the WCE, economic activities include the sale of fruits.

“The state government intends to upgrade existing stalls to create a bigger space and conducive environment,” said Saarani.

Improved connectivity

Though the main alignment of the WCE is focused on the western coast of Selangor and Perak, it also has connections to the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Federal Route 2 (FR2), New North Klang Straits Bypass (NNKSB), New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway (Latar), said WCE Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Lyndon Alfred Felix.

“Once the highway is fully completed by 2025, motorists will have more options to reach their destinations comfortably, safely and in a shorter time.

“As such, those driving along the WCE will find that they are connected to ‘everywhere’,” said Lyndon.

In addition to popular tourist destinations like Sekinchan, Pulau Pangkor and Taiping Zoo, Port Klang, Penang Port and Lumut Port, as well as Kuala Lumpur International Airport are also accessible via the WCE.

What makes WCE unique is the inclusion of upgraded parts of Federal Route 5 (FR5) into its alignment.

“Essentially, this means that when the highway is fully completed, two parts, namely from Tanjung Karang to Sabak Bernam in Selangor and Teluk Intan to Lekir in Perak will be toll-free,” said Lyndon.

Muhammad Fahmi Bukari, a full-time content creator who researched on the WCE and posted an online video of his findings, noted that an initial proposed alignment for WCE was to build it at the fringe of the Raja Musa Forest Reserve.

Lyndon: Those driving along the WCE are connected to everywhere.“However, this gave rise to environmental concerns as being the largest peat forest in Peninsular Malaysia, Raja Musa Forest Reserve was an important water catchment area for padi irrigation.

“So WCE included existing parts of FR5 into the highway’s alignment instead,” he said.

Muhammad Fahmi added that the flat terrain was preferred by heavy vehicle drivers who wanted to avoid the steep climbs near Gopeng and Menora Tunnel as well as the traffic congestion nearing Sungai Buloh and Ipoh on the NSE.

As such, the highway, which provides a flatter route between the Klang and Penang ports, would be a boon for the logistics industry especially oil palm plantations and fruit orchards situated along the WCE alignment.

Looking ahead

Now that the Perak portion of the WCE, which stretches from Hutan Melintang to Taiping Selatan is fully opened, the completion of the alignment in Selangor is much anticipated.

Currently, only 31.5km of Sections 5 and 6 of the WCE stretch from Bandar Bukit Raja Selatan in Klang to Assam Jawa in Kuala Selangor are open.

Section 1, which connects SKVE to Banting, and Section 2, which links Kesas to SKVE, are expected to see completion by the second quarter of this year.

Section 3 from Kesas at Sri Andalas which links to NKVE and FR2, Section 4 from NKVE to NNKSB and Section 7 from Assam Jawa to Tanjung Karang, are expected to be completed by 2025 in time for Visit Selangor Year.

Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH) president Soo Chee Yeong said the completion of the WCE was something the logistics and transportation industry would be looking forward to.

“The setting up of infrastructure is always a good thing.

“Ideally, the WCE should be extended all the way up to Nibong Tebal in Penang as well as all the way south to Tanjung Sepat and Port Dickson.

“Doing so will benefit the southern part of Selangor,” said Soo.

Once the Selangor alignment is completed, Soo estimated that hauliers would ply the time- saving route from Banting to Bandar Bukit Raja Utara.

“At present, the route which passes Klang town has many traffic lights, so I estimate saving up to 30 minutes in travel time on the new expressway,” he said.

Anticipating that its flat terrain will make WCE the preferred route for heavy vehicles, special consideration is being made for parking facilities.

As part of the planning process, WCE is engaging with industry players to ascertain which of their 10 rest stops should have specially allocated parking bays for lorries.

“We hope when a tired lorry driver arrives at a designated parking bay, he would not find another vehicle occupying the space,” said WCE general manager of strategic communications and stakeholder engagement Syed Mohammed Idid.

Currently, average daily traffic on the WCE is over 70,000 vehicles.

The launch of the West Coast Expressway Section 11 stretch attended by Nanta (eleventh from left) and Saarani (on his left).

The number is expected to rise to 150,000 vehicles daily during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri peak holiday season.

Upon full completion, WCE’s projection is over 350,000 vehicles per day.

For those driving electric cars, EV chargers will be operational soon at the Assam Jawa interchange toll plaza layby.

More EV charging stations will be available at other selected toll plaza lay-bys and rest and service areas once the WCE is fully completed in 2025.