WCE targets completion of West Coast Expressway by FY2027

26-Aug-2025 By Justin Lim | theedgemalaysia.com

WCE Holdings Bhd (KL:WCEHB) is aiming to complete the West Coast Expressway by the financial year ending March 31, 2027 (FY2027), according to its chief executive officer Lyndon Alfred Felix.

To date, eight out of the expressway’s 11 sections are already operational, including the entire Perak alignment.

Lydon said the remaining works involve Section 3 (SKVE–NKVE/FHR2) and Section 7 (Assam Jawa–Tanjong Karang), as well as the construction of the remaining Rest and Service Areas (RSAs) along the highway.

“One of the primary challenges for the completion of Section 3 revolves around the land acquisition of a specific land parcel, Lot 15762. WCE has intensified its engagement with relevant agencies, the government and the landowner to resolve this issue,” said Lydon in a statement.

Looking ahead, Lyndon reiterated the group’s focus on delivering the project within the new timeline.

“The strong start to FY2026 demonstrates the viability of our business model and the resilience of the West Coast Expressway as a vital infrastructure asset. With increasing toll revenue, completion of the remaining sections, and sustained government support, WCE is confident that the group is moving steadily towards long-term profitability and enhanced value creation for shareholders,” Lydon said.

The 233km toll highway, which links Banting in Selangor to Taiping in Perak, was originally slated for completion in 2020 under a concession agreement signed in 2013. The delay is due to a myriad of issues including underperforming contractors, funding issues, disputes over land acquisition, changes in political leadership, alignment amendments and escalating costs.

Meanwhile, WCE’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 84% to RM33.4 million in the first quarter ended June 30, 2025, up from RM18.1 million a year earlier, thanks to higher toll collections. Toll revenue increased 61% to RM42.02 million due to more traffic after opening three new sections of the highway.

However, WCE still posted a net loss of RM25.33 million, slightly better than RM25.86 million a year ago, mainly because of interest expenses on project financing. The company expects that once the WCE project is fully completed, revenue growth will exceed financing costs, leading to sustained profitability.

WCE counts IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM) as its largest shareholder.

WCE’s share price settled down 4.5 sen or 6.43% to 65.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.16 billion.

Taiping-Banting highway to be completed by 2025 — Exco

The West Coast Coastal Expressway (WCE) project connecting Taiping, Perak and Banting is scheduled to be completed in 2025, says state executive councillor for infrastructure Izham Hashim.

He explained that the 233 kilometre long project with a total cost of RM5.044 billion have reached 82.51 per cent progress as of September 25.

“All sections of the WCE expressway are scheduled to be fully completed by 2025 with the final stage to involve the alignment of Section 7 at Persimpangan Tanjong Karang,” he said.

Izham was answering Sungai Panjang state assemblyman Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin’s query regarding the status of the WCE expressway during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting, here today.

The project, which was supposed to be completed in 2023, faced slight delays following the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) due to the spread of Covid-19 pandemic beginning mid-March 2020.

The expressway has 21 junctions which connect to the South Klang Valley Expressway, the New Klang Valley Expressway, the North South Expressway, the North Klang Straits Expressway, the Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway and other roads.

By Sofia Nasir, Selangor Journal | December 6, 2022