West Coast Expressway

This article is about the expressway in Malaysia. For the highway running along the west coast of South Korea, see Seohaean Expressway.

The West Coast Expressway (E32), abbreviated WCE, is an interstate controlled-access highway running along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The 233-kilometre (145-mile) expressway is currently under construction, with several sections open for public use. Once completed, the expressway will run between Changkat Jering, Perak and Banting, Selangor, following federal routes 5 and 60 for most of its route. The expressway will operate in three sections, with sections of federal route 5 completing the missing connections; these sections will be upgraded to limited-access roads. The expressway is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2025,^[1][2] except for a 10 km stretch from Section 7B which is expected to be completed by June 2026.^[3]

Expressway 32
Lebuhraya Pesisiran Pantai Barat
West Coast Expressway
Route information
Maintained by West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd
Length	233.0 km (144.8 mi)
Status	7 sections opened: Perak section: All 4 section completed, and opened for traffic Selangor section: Section 1: Banting–Tg. Dua Belas (SKVE) Section 5: Bandar Bukit Raja–Kapar Section 6: Kapar–Assam Jawa
Existed	2014–present
History	Opened in stages from June 2019, expected completion in 2026; 2 years' time (2026).
Major junctions
North end	FT 60 Federal route 60 and North–South Expressway Northern Route North–South Expressway Northern Route at Changkat Jering, Perak
Major intersections	FT 5 Federal route 5 FT 58 Federal route 58 Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway New North Klang Straits Bypass New North Klang Straits Bypass FT 2 Federal Highway FT 3216 Jalan Batu Tiga Lama Shah Alam Expressway Shah Alam Expressway South Klang Valley Expressway South Klang Valley Expressway
South end	FT 31 Jalan Banting–Dengkil at Banting, Selangor
Location
Country	Malaysia
Primary destinations	Taiping, Pantai Remis, Beruas, Sitiawan, Teluk Intan, Hutan Melintang, Sabak Bernam, Sekinchan, Kuala Selangor, Kapar, Sungai Besar, Bukit Raja, Klang, Banting. Proposed WCE Extension (Southbound): From Banting, then connect to KLIA / KLIA 2, Port Dickson, Bandaraya Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat, Pontian, Gelang Patah.
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

The expressway is being built by Konsortium Lebuhraya Pantai Barat. Approval was given by the government for the construction, which was to begin from 20 December 2013 and was to be completed within five years.^[4] It originally was given route code E28 but later changed to E32, and E28 was used by Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge. The project was delayed and actual construction began in May 2014. Currently, a 31.5-kilometre (19.6 mi) segment between Kapar and Assam Jawa,^[5] a 19-kilometre (12 mi) segment from Hutan Melintang to Teluk Intan^[6] and a 80-kilometre (50 mi) segment from Lekir to Taiping^[7] are opened to traffic.

Once the expressway is completed, it will be the fourth longest in Peninsular Malaysia, after the North-South Expressway Northern Route, the East Coast Expressway and the North-South Expressway Southern Route.

Overview

Construction of the expressway is divided into eleven packages. Works for the first five packages commenced in May 2014, of which three packages are in Selangor while the other two are in Perak. The stretches between Tanjung Karang to Hutan Melintang and Teluk Intan to Kampung Lekir are using the existing stretches of federal route 5, both of which are currently being upgraded. As a result, the expressway will consist of three non-contiguous stretches of controlled-access expressway (JKR R6), i.e. from Banting to Tanjung Karang, Hutan Melintang to Teluk Intan and Lekir to Changkat Jering while the two stretches on federal route 5 are partial access highways (JKR R5) featuring grade-separated interchanges at major junctions, left-in/left-out junctions and at-grade U-Turns.^{[citation needed]}

A spur link from Changkat Keruing to Siputeh (near Ipoh) in Perak which will be connected via an interchange with the main link is also in the plan. Construction of the spur link is however deferred. The spur link will consist of a controlled-access expressway (JKR R6) stretch from Changkat Keruing to Parit while the stretch between Parit to Siputeh will use the existing stretch of federal route 73 will be similarly upgraded like the two federal route 5 stretches of the main link package has been awarded to Gedeihen Engineering Sdn Bhd. The controlled-access expressway stretches will use a closed toll system like the North–South Expressway. Toll collection has started at all opened stretches of the expressway. The stretches on existing federal roads will remain toll-free.^{[citation needed]}

Progress updates on construction of the expressway is updated monthly here.

On 25 May 2014, the construction of the expressway began. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new expressway was held near the Teluk Intan interchange in Teluk Intan, Perak.^{[citation needed]}

Five interchanges (sections 4–5, 8–10) were expected to be opened in time for Eid al-Fitr in 2019^[8] but a burst water pipe on 5 May 2019 delayed the opening of sections 4–5.^[9]

On 31 May 2019, section 8 between Hutan Melintang and Teluk Intan in Perak was opened to traffic. The opening ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Works, Mohd. Anuar Tahir.^[6] This followed by the opening of sections 9 and 10 between Lekir and Beruas, also in Perak on 23 September 2019 and officiated by Works Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Syed Omar Sharifuddin Syed Ikhsan.^[7] The first section to open in Selangor was section 5 between Kapar and Bukit Raja and officiated by Malaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Mohd Shuhaimi Hassan. This stretch was opened to public on 10 December 2019.^[5]

Land acquisition issues and alignment changes causing delay of the construction of section 7 (Assam Jawa–Tanjung Karang),^[8] which was being completed by 2024 along with section 11 (Beruas–Taiping South).^[10][11]

As of 21 November 2023, section 6 (Kapar – Assam Jawa) is opened to traffic along which steady progress being made at sections 7 and 11, with are the most integral sections of the expressway to be completed to ease traffic congestion at Tanjung Karang and along FT 60, especially during festive seasons.^[12]

WCE group has the first right of refusal for Section 12 (Siputeh – Segari) which will cost RM600 million with 41 km stretch. There is a plan to extend the expressway all the way to Penang if it is feasible.^[10]

There's also a proposal by the Johorean state government to extend the WCE to Melaka, Pontian, and Iskandar Puteri from Banting. If it is feasible, WCE will be the alternative route to the North South Expressway from Johor Bahru to Taiping.^[13]

In October 2024, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced the WCE extension plan from Banting, Selangor - Gelang Patah, Johor during presentation of Budget 2025. Possible route of WCE extension (southbound) shall be: Banting - KLIA/KLIA2 - Port Dickson - Melaka City - Muar - Batu Pahat - Pontian - Gelang Patah. ^[14]

Route background

WCE in Sungai Rasau, Klang

WCE in Changkat Jering, the northern termini in Taiping

WCE Terong alignment view from airplane

The northern terminus of the expressway will be located at Changkat Jering on the North–South Expressway Northern Route. The southern terminus will be located at Banting on Federal Route 31. The expressway will have interchanges to Trong, Beruas, Changkat Cermin, Sitiawan, Lekir, Teluk Intan, Hutan Melintang, Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, Sekinchan, Tanjung Karang, Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway at Assam Jawa, Kapar, New North Klang Straits Bypass, New Klang Valley Expressway at Bukit Raja, Federal Highway at Klang, Sri Andalas, Shah Alam Expressway near Jalan Kebun and South Klang Valley Expressway.

12 sites have been identified as rest and services area with each area will have 2 petrol stations.^[10]

Tolls

The expressway implements closed toll system where rates are calculated between entry and exit of the expressway. However toll collections are not implemented in Federal Route 5 upgraded sections, making the closed toll section divided into three sections, including the short section of Hutan Melintang - Teluk Intan as well where vehicles still need to go through entry and exit tolls despite not having interchanges in between.

As for now toll collection has begun in all the opened sections.

Toll rates

Hutan Melintang - Teluk Intan tolls

Class	Types of Vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian ringgit RM)
0	Motorcycles	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM 2.90
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM 5.80
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM 8.70
4	Taxis	RM 1.50
5	Buses	RM 2.20

Junction list

State	District	km	Interchange	Name	Destination	Note	Photograph
Perak	Larut, Matang & Selama		3238	Taiping Selatan	3238A FT 60 Federal Route 60- Trong, Bendang Siam, Kg. Changkat Ibol. 3238B FT 1 Federal Route 1- Simpang, Kamunting, Padang Rengas. FT 74 Federal Route 74 - Taiping, Kuala Sepetang. 3238C North–South Expressway Northern Route( AH2) –Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, George Town, Alor Setar, Kuala Lumpur	Cloverleaf Diamond Fused Interchange
			Taiping Selatan Toll Plaza Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID Start/End closed toll collection system
			3237	Trong	FT 60 Federal Route 60 - Trong	Trumpet interchange.
			Sg. Nyior Rest and Service Area (Partially completed; both directions; separated)
	Manjung	241.63	3235	Beruas	FT 73 Federal Route 73 - Beruas, Parit, Batu Gajah FT 60 Federal Route 60 - Pantai Remis	Trumpet interchange.
		222.55	3233	Changkat Cermin	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Ayer Tawar, Bota, Seri Iskandar, Batu Gajah, Ipoh	Trumpet interchange
		216.5	Ayer Tawar Rest and Service Area (under construction; northbound) West Coast Expressway North Region Office (northbound)
		210.1	3232	Sitiawan Utara	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Sitiawan, Ayer Tawar FT 100 Federal Route 100 - Seri Manjung, Lumut, Pelabuhan Lumut , Pulau Pangkor , Teluk Senangin	Trumpet interchange
		208.0	Sungai Wangi Rest and Service Area (under construction; southbound)
		202.89	3231	Sitiawan Selatan	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Sitiawan FT 60 Federal Route 60 - Seri Manjung, Lumut, Pelabuhan Lumut , Pulau Pangkor , Teluk Batik	Trumpet interchange
		197.71	Lekir Toll Plaza Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID Start/End closed toll collection system
		196.24	3230	Lekir	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Lekir (Batu 9-11)	Diamond Interchange
		193.59	Expressway West Coast Expressway ends southbound / commences northbound Federal Route FT 5 stretch commences southbound / ends northbound
				Batu 14 Lekir	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Lekir, Kg Koh, Sitiawan, Seri Manjung, Lumut	LiLO interchange, entry/exit only for northbound traffic
				Kampung Kayan	Kampung Kayan	LiLO Interchange, entry/exit only for northbound traffic
	Perak Tengah			Bagan Datuk Bridge (Sultan Nazrin Shah Bridge)	FT 312 - Bagan Datuk, Selekoh, Rungkup	LiLO Interchange, entry/exit only for northbound traffic
				Jalan Trans Perak	A266 Lebuh Pemaisuri - FELCRA Seberang Perak, Kampung Gajah, Bota Kiri	Directional T-junction with traffic lights
				Jalan Kota Setia	A145 Kota Setia, Kampung Sungai Besar	LiLO Interchange, entry/exit only for northbound traffic
				Jalan Bota Kiri	A18 Ulu Dedap, Kampung Gajah, Bota Kiri	LiLO Interchange, entry/exit only for southbound traffic
	Hilir Perak			Sungai Rubana	Kampung Sungai Rubana	LiLO Interchange, entry/exit only for northbound traffic
				Sungai Durian	Sungai Durian, Selat Masjid	LiLO interchange, entry/exit only for southbound traffic.
				Tanjung Sari	Tapak Semenang, Tanjung Sari, Teluk Bharu	LiLO Interchange, entry/exit only for northbound traffic
			Sultan Yusuf Bridge
		162.07	Federal Route FT 5 stretch commences northbound / ends southbound Expressway West Coast Expressway ends northbound / commences southbound
			3223	Teluk Intan	FT 58 Federal Route 58 - Teluk Intan, Bidor FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Hutan Melintang, Bagan Datuk	Diamond interchange.
			Teluk Intan Toll Plaza Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID Start/End closed toll collection system
			Teluk Intan Rest and Service Area (both directions; separated)
	Bagan Datuk		Hutan Melintang Toll Plaza Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID Start/End closed toll collection system
			3222	Hutan Melintang	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Hutan Melintang FT 69 Federal Route 69 - Bagan Datuk	Diamond interchange.
		143.99	Expressway West Coast Expressway ends southbound / commences northbound Federal Route FT 5 stretch commences southbound / ends northbound
Perak–Selangor border			Bernam River Bridge
Selangor	Sabak Bernam			Sabak Bernam	B53 Jalan Gertak Tinggi – Sabak Bernam	Diamond interchange
				Sungai Air Tawar	B55 Jalan Sungai Air Tawar – Sungai Air Tawar, Bagan Nakhoda Omar	Diamond interchange
				Sungai Besar	B51 Jalan Sungai Limau Dua – Sungai Besar	Diamond interchange
				Sungai Panjang	B44 Jalan Sungai Panjang – Sungai Panjang, Tanjung Malim	Diamond interchange
				Sekinchan	Jalan Bahagia – Sekinchan	Diamond interchange
	Kuala Selangor		Federal Route FT 5 stretch commences northbound / ends southbound Expressway West Coast Expressway (under construction) ends northbound / commences southbound
			3212	Tanjung Karang	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Tanjung Karang, Bagan Tengkorak	Under construction. Diamond interchange
			Tanjung Karang Toll Plaza Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID Start/End closed toll collection system (under construction)
			3210	Assam Jawa	FT 54 Federal Route 54 - Kuala Selangor, Bestari Jaya, Ijok Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway – Rawang, Selayang, Puncak Alam, Kuang, Kuala Lumpur	Trumpet interchange
	Klang		Bukit Kapar Rest and Service Area (under construction; both directions; separated)
		39.95	3208	Bandar Bukit Raja North (Kapar)	FT 5 Federal Route 5 - Kapar FT 3217 Federal Route 3217 - Meru, Setia Alam	Trumpet interchange
		34.55	3207	Bandar Bukit Raja South (NNKSB 2)	3207A FT 3217 Federal Route 3217 - Meru, Setia Alam 3207B New North Klang Straits Bypass – Port Klang , West Port 3207C North–South Expressway Northern Route – Shah Alam, Subang, Damansara, Kuala Lumpur	Half cloverleaf interchange; exit from northbound only
			3206	NKVE-FHR2	3206A FT 2 Federal Highway - Klang, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya. 3206B North–South Expressway Northern Route -Kuala Lumpur, Damansara, Kuantan. New North Klang Straits Bypass - Bandar Baru Klang, Port Klang , West Port , North Port .	Under construction; exit from Banting / southbound only
			3205	Sri Andalas	FT 190 Federal Route 190 - Taman Sri Andalas, Bukit Kemuning	Under construction; Exit from northbound only
			3204	Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS)	Shah Alam Expressway – Pulau Indah , Klang, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur	Under construction; trumpet interchange
	Kuala Langat		3203	South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE)	South Klang Valley Expressway – Pulau Indah , Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Kajang, Johor Bahru	Trumpet interchange. Interchange without toll plaza; integrated toll system with SKVE
			Kota Seri Langat Toll Plaza Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID Start/End closed toll collection system
			3202	Kota Seri Langat	Kota Seri Langat	Under construction
			3201	Banting	FT 31 Federal Route 31 - Banting, Morib, Dengkil, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)	Trumpet interchange

References

1. "Hot spots coming up along WCE". Edgeprop.my. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
2. TAHIR, MOHD IZZATUL IZUAN (6 December 2022). "Lebuhraya Taiping-Banting beroperasi sepenuhnya 2025". Sinar Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 1 June 2023.
3. "Bumpy path to profitability | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
4. http://www.wce.com.my/media-updates/New-beginning-for-KEuro ^{[dead link‍]}
5. Chan, Dawn (1 December 2019). "West Coast Expressway opens Section 5 stretch to traffic tonight". NST Online. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
6. Arif, Zahratulhayat Mat (3 May 2019). "Section 8 of West Coast Expressway opens today". NST Online. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
7. Bernama (2 September 2019). "Sections 9, 10 of WCE now open". NST Online. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
8. "West Coast Expressway – Media Updates – WCE back in the spotlight". wce.com.my. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
9. Thiagarajan, Tara (9 May 2019). "Photos Show Extent Of Damage to Collapsed Expressway That Caused Unexpected Water Shortage in Klang – WORLD OF BUZZ". worldofbuzz.com/. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
10. "In high gear to complete 233km West Coast Expressway | The Star Online". The Star. Malaysia. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
11. "WCE highway completion delayed to 2024 | The Malaysian Reserve". The Malaysian Reserve. Malaysia. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
12. BERNAMA (20 November 2023). "WCE SECTION 6 OPENS AT MIDNIGHT, NO TOLL UNTIL JAN 2, 2024". BERNAMA. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
13. "Rancangan Struktur Negeri Johor 2030 (RSNJ 2030)" (PDF). PLANMalaysia. 1 (1): 78. 26 March 2020 – via Government of Malaysia, Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan; KPKT).
14. "WCE Extension". Astro Awani). 3 November 2024.

External links

• West Coast Expressway (WCE) Sdn Bhd