KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Putrajaya expects to sort out final details of the automated traffic enforcement system (AES) concession agreement with Boustead Holdings Bhd and its parent the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) next month, said Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi.

He said the government is "hopeful" that the terms of the AES concession agreement will be finalised in May, at the same time a Bill to amend the Road Transport Act is to be tabled and the Automated Awareness Safety System (AWAS) is to be implemented.

"[The negotiations] involve other stakesholders, such as the Ministry of Finance. It is not decided by one minister," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today, when asked why negotiations are taking so long.

On the duration of the concession period, Aziz said: "That one has to wait."

Recall that in November last year, Boustead had acquired a 50% stake in Irat Properties Sdn Bhd for RM199 million, which holds a five-year concession for the AES project. The concession was awarded by the government on Dec 9, 2011. LTAT holds another 49.17% in Irat Properties; while Irat Holdings Sdn Bhd holds the remaining 0.83%.

The government first introduced the AES in 2011, but abruptly took the project back from Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd and ATES Sdn Bhd, before the completion of the concession period, following backlash from the opposition and legal discrepancies in the issued summons.