KUALA LUMPUR (May 10): Nearly 18 years since its opening, the 26km Maju Expressway (MEX), which links Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, is finally fulfilling its role as the main artery connecting the city to the country’s administrative capital. It is the jewel in the crown for Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed, 74, who owns the Maju Group.

The thorn, meanwhile, is arguably the incomplete 16.8km extension of the MEX, dubbed MEX II, which links Putrajaya to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

After raising RM1.3 billion in debt in 2016, the Maju Group’s MEX II now only has RM30 million left (with RM29 million already pledged to banks) and an unfinished highway — leaving the government in a dilemma and bondholders in limbo. Construction was supposed to have completed in 2019.

MEX II has been under receivership since May 2022 but no solution is in sight. The abandoned project has been on the government’s radar for more than a year.

The concessionaire for the project is under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over alleged false claims totalling RM416 million.

To know more about the extent of the financial issues faced and what they mean, pick up a copy of the May 12, 2025 issue of The Edge Malaysia weekly available at the newsstands from Saturday, May 10.

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