West Coast Expressway (WCE) Section 11 Beruas To Taiping Opens Before Raya

Section 11 of the West Coast Expressway (WCE), which runs from Beruas to Taiping (South), is expected to open in the first quarter of this year, and no later than April, Bernama reported.

Nadzrol Fadzilah Ahmad, Deputy Director-General (Development) of the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), stated that efforts are being made to commission the section before Chinese New Year, but he is confident that it will be operational before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“The aim is to help people avoid congestion, but it is still subjective because safety is our priority,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.
He also stated that the toll booths would be open for free use as usual for a limited time.

Meanwhile, West Coast Expressway (WCE) Holdings Bhd CEO Lyndon Alfred Felix stated that construction progress had reached 98% by December 31, last year.

“We are now entering the inspection, supervision and certification phase by LLM. We have to go through these phases before this section can be opened to all road users,” he added.

Saarani earlier stated that the WCE project was critical because it provided a strategic route for expanding the transportation network not only between cities and districts, but also connecting Perak to economic growth centers, beginning with Port Klang, Lumut Port, and Penang Port.

This route is also significant because it serves as a catalyst for Perak's plan to drive socioeconomic growth along the west coast and transform the state's tourism landscape by improving access to strategic destinations in accordance with the Visit Perak Year 2024 initiative. "When it opens later, road users will have alternative routes to the existing roads to areas on the west coast of Perak such as Teluk Intan, Manjung, Pulau Pangkor, Beruas, Trong, Changkat Jering and Taiping," the official said.

The 233-kilometer-long project, being carried out by West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd as part of a privatisation initiative, connects Taiping and Banting in Selangor.

To date, five of the eleven sections of the WCE expressway routes have been opened to traffic: Sections 5 (Klang-Kapar) and 6 (Kapar-Assam Java) in Selangor, Sections 8 (Hutan Melintang-Teluk Intan), 9 (Kampung Lekir-Changkat Cermin), and 10 (Changkat Cermin-Beruas) in Perak. Section 11 (Beruas-South Taiping), which spans 35.5 kilometers, completes the WCE section in the state of Perak.