48 tollway bidders passed

JAKARTA (JP): Out of the 87 consortia filing bids with the government for the construction of 19 tollway segments in Java and Sumatra, only 48 met the requirements, PT Jasa Marga, the state-owned highway company, announced yesterday.

"The 48 bidders include consortia involving foreign companies from Malaysia, South Korea, Australia, Britain, Singapore, Germany and Japan," Yunial Harun, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement.

However, the 48 bidders had yet to follow further selection to shortlist 39 of them, he said.

He said in July, the government would ask the 39 bidders to put forward the values of their projects.

"The government will officially announce the winners of the contracts for the 19 tollway segments in January 1996," Yunial said.

The tollway projects, worth Rp 6.07 trillion (US$2.7 billion), are to be carried out under a build, operate and transfer arrangement, in which investors can establish either joint ventures or joint operation with PT Java Marga, the state-run company assigned to manage all Indonesia's toll roads.

The road projects, with a total length of 770 kilometers, would consist of 19 segments, will consist of 18 highways in Java and one in North Sumatra.

Of the 19 toll road segments, one is expected to start operation by 2000, three by 2001 and the others by 2004. (31)