SHAH ALAM, 16 Mar: The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) and PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) have agreed to appoint an independent consultant to conduct a study to identify the cause of the the tiered interchange collapse.
PKNS Public Relations Manager, Ishak Hashim said that PKNS had submitted three independent consultant’s names to investigate the exact cause of the incident.
“PKNS has already asked the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) to take immediate steps to select an independent consultant which PKNS and PLUS have recommended to facilitate the process of identifying the cause of the tiered interchange collapse,” he said.
At the same time, an independent consultant will also be appointed by PKNS to determine whether the construction work on the tiered interchange complied with the terms of construction.
“This is in line with the corporate governance practises opted by PKNS,” he added that clearance work is now being undertaken by PKNS.
The cost of appointing the consultant will be shared between PLUS and PKNS.
At the end of last February, the tiered interchange near Kilometre 2.4 of the Putrajaya Link heading to the Elite Highway collapsed.
When the incident occurred, road reparations were underway under the location of the bridge.
However, there were not reports of injury or loss of life resulting from the incident.
The tiered bridge interchange which was built in October 2007 began operations in November 2009 and was handed over to Plus on 22 March 2012.
Prior to the incident, the bridge was closed to all traffic starting from 7 December 2012 and is expected to reopen on 31 December 2013 to make way for reparations.