SHAH ALAM, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- The West Coast Expressway (WCE) project is expected to be a major catalyst in bridging the development gap between rural and urban areas, especially in northern Selangor.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the extension of the WCE to Tanjong Karang can shorten travel times and subsequently unlock the development potential of northern Selangor.
“When the Tanjong Karang connection is completed, we will actually be able to reduce travel time by between 45 minutes and an hour, and automatically, northern Selangor, starting from Kuala Selangor to Tanjong Karang, Sungai Besar, and ultimately Sabak Bernam, can unlock its potential,” he said.
He said this during the Second Selangor Plan (RS-2) Engagement Session between the Selangor Menteri Besar and Editors, attended by editors from media agencies, including Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, here today.
The Section 7 route is one of the crucial stretches of the WCE in Selangor, comprising an alignment from Assam Jawa, Kuala Selangor, to Tanjong Karang, spanning 29.5 kilometres.
Amirudin said one potential area for unlocking is housing development, allowing residents to live in northern Selangor while working in urban centres such as Shah Alam or Klang.
“At the very least for housing. People can live in Tanjong Karang and commute to Shah Alam within half an hour or to Klang,” he said.
Amirudin added that the experience from the First Selangor Plan (RS-1) showed that regional development moves slowly without strong public infrastructure support.
He said public infrastructure development will be emphasised more in RS-2, while the state government will continue lobbying for more infrastructure investment through the Malaysia Plan.
“An important lesson learned from the First Selangor Plan is that if we do not have investment in public infrastructure or connectivity, development will be slow. That is what happened with SABDA (Sabak Bernam Development Area). The same happened with IDRISS (Integrated Development Region in South Selangor).
“So it appears the government must step in, but through understanding and cooperation with companies,” he said.
Earlier today, Amirudin launched RS-2, the state’s economic roadmap for the 2026-2030 period, which outlines six missions across 25 focus areas and targets RM600 billion in economic value over the period.
-- BERNAMA