WCE Extension Banting-Gelang Patah Set To Provide NSE Alternative

Photo: BH. According to Transport minister Loke Siew Fook, the West Coast Expressway (WCE), which is currently in the planning stages and will connect Banting, Selangor, to Gelang Patah, Johor, is set to provide an alternate route to reduce the traffic congestion that drivers commonly encounter on the North-South Expressway (NSE).

In addition to easing traffic congestion, the project will have a positive effect on development in the areas along the route, which will boost the local economy, the minister stated.

“It will be an alternative to the NSE because we know that the expressway, especially from Johor Bahru to the north or Kuala Lumpur, is always congested on weekends and sometimes unable to accommodate the volume of vehicles.
“When this new alignment is built, it will also act as a catalyst for development in the adjacent coastal areas,” he told reporters.

The highway project will also help the nation's logistics industry grow, especially by linking two important ports: Port Klang in Selangor and Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor, and integrating them for different forms of transportation, Loke says. 

Currently, the NSE, which began operations in 1994, is the only highway connecting Johor to the Klang Valley for land transportation modes such as trucks, buses, cars, and motorcycles.

When Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim presented the 2025 budget on October 18, he stated that the WCE Banting-Gelang Patah expressway project would be prioritized next year.