IPOH: The construction of Section 11 of the West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Beruas to Taiping (South) will be completed by the end of this year.
Alignments were also conducted involving Section 8 from Hutan Melintang to Teluk Intan; Section 9 (Lekir — Changkat Chermin) and Section 10 (Changkat Chermin — Beruas) that have now been opened to road users.
WCE operations manager Ir Syed Naguib Barakbah Syed Mohd said the construction of Section 11 which was reported delayed before, is now on track and has reached 88 per cent completion.
"The construction works in Section 11 involves engineering elements such as pavement and slopes, as well as elements such as build-up of toll structures and so on.
"In addition, the 35.5km route also crosses the Bubu Forest Reserve, and as a step to preserve the environment and ecosystem there, two box culverts were built for wild animals to cross the area," he said, at a press conference at Weil Hotel here, today.
WCE connects two states namely Selangor and Perak, focusing on the west coast coastal areas including the Federal Route.
On Aug 26, 2021, it was reported that the main cause of the delay in the construction of the WCE involving Section 11 in Trong was due to the poor performance of the main contractor.
Former state Infrastructure committee chairman Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun said there were major constraints on the supply of building materials following the implementation of the Movement Control Order and Enhanced Movement Control Order.
Syed Naguib added that once all the alignments in both Selangor and Perak were fully completed, WCE is estimated to receive the entry of 300,000 vehicles or 20 per cent of the total number of vehicles per day on the Plus Highway.
As such, Syed Naguib said WCE was planning to develop four rest areas along the WCE Perak route in Teluk Intan, Sungai Wangi, Ayer Tawar and Sungai Nyiur.
"We are also planning to develop several electric vehicle fast charging infrastructures, including in the Lekir and Teluk Intan areas," he added.