Unlike the first phase of the expressway where MTD Group managed to complete it on time despite of the huge flood in Pahang during the construction period, the second phase of the expressway had sparked a controversy due to numerous delays during the construction. The deadline was set for May 2011; however, the final deadline of the project completion was pushed to September 2014. The price hike of construction materials such as bitumen and steel was primarily blamed for the delay, as the price hike had caused several contractors to withdraw from the project due to their inability to afford the increasing construction costs. In addition, the Malaysian Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also claimed that the delay and the increase of construction costs was attributed to the change of the construction model from being a toll-free federal highway to a toll expressway. Meanwhile, MTD Group claimed that the huge flood in Terengganu in 2009 that submerged some sections of the expressway had forced them to redesign the expressway, including the construction of higher viaducts in flood-prone areas, adding the construction costs further.