KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Shares in construction companies which are building highways and acting as toll operators fell on news that the government is commencing talks to acquire four highways in the Klang Valley.

At 11:26am, the Construction Index on Bursa Malaysia dipped 3.74% or 7.14 points to 183.82 points.

In particular, shares in IJM Corp Bhd and Ekovest Bhd were down as much as 10.05% and 6.67% respectively, while Taliworks Corp Bhd fell by 1.69%.

Shares in Gamuda and its 43.58%-owned company Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd fell as much as 12.50% and 9.35% respectively this morning as well.

On the other hand, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd shares rose 2.44% at mid-morning today.

Therefore, this demonstrates for the most part that investors are now cautious with construction stocks, as those involved in highway operation and maintenance, and toll collection facilities now have potential risk of lower earnings from lack of income generated via toll collection on highways.

The Edge Financial Daily reported today the government was in discussions with Gamuda to buy out its stake in highway concessions, particularly with reference to four traffic arteries the group controls.

The highways are Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian KL Barat (Sprint), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (Kesas) and the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart Tunnel).

In lieu of tolls being charged to road users, the government proposes to introduce a "congestion charge" during peak hours, with those travelling during the "off-peak" hours of 11pm to 5am using the roads for free.