The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) expects a minimum internal rate of return of 10 per cent a year from its investment in the North-South highway operator.
"The investment in PLUS is expected to generate a stable and sustainable yield which fits well with EPF's strategic asset allocation," said Rohaya Mohammad Yusof, EPF's head of capital markets.
The fund holds 49 per cent of PLUS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which in turn owns the North-South expressways and three other highways. UEM Group Bhd holds the remaining 51 per cent.
Rohaya and UEM group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Izzaddin Idris held a joint press conference to announce the outcome of talks on a new toll deal as well as the end of UEM-EPF's takeover of PLUS Expressways Bhd's assets and liabilities.
Meanwhile, Izzaddin said UEM-EPF will maintain RM800 million a year in capital expenditure (capex) to maintain highways as part of efforts to preserve national assets.
"We will take care of highways such as the North-South Expressway as it is a key national asset that forms the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia's road infrastructure, " he said, adding that maintaining expressways is costly. For example, PLUS Expressways Bhd spent RM829 million for routine, heavy maintenance and upgrading works, compared with RM764 million in 2009.
"From a capex point of view, Penang bridge spent RM786 million to widen the bridge from two lanes to three each way. The widening, which commenced in 2005 and completed in 2009, was undertaken to accommodate traffic rise volume. Traffic volume is bound to increase and more capex will come in time," he said.
"The investment in PLUS is expected to generate a stable and sustainable yield which fits well with EPF's strategic asset allocation," said Rohaya Mohammad Yusof, EPF's head of capital markets.
The fund holds 49 per cent of PLUS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which in turn owns the North-South expressways and three other highways. UEM Group Bhd holds the remaining 51 per cent.
Rohaya and UEM group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Izzaddin Idris held a joint press conference to announce the outcome of talks on a new toll deal as well as the end of UEM-EPF's takeover of PLUS Expressways Bhd's assets and liabilities.
Meanwhile, Izzaddin said UEM-EPF will maintain RM800 million a year in capital expenditure (capex) to maintain highways as part of efforts to preserve national assets.
"We will take care of highways such as the North-South Expressway as it is a key national asset that forms the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia's road infrastructure, " he said, adding that maintaining expressways is costly. For example, PLUS Expressways Bhd spent RM829 million for routine, heavy maintenance and upgrading works, compared with RM764 million in 2009.
"From a capex point of view, Penang bridge spent RM786 million to widen the bridge from two lanes to three each way. The widening, which commenced in 2005 and completed in 2009, was undertaken to accommodate traffic rise volume. Traffic volume is bound to increase and more capex will come in time," he said.
