Cawang-Bekasi toll road project goes to Investa Kusuma
Cawang-Bekasi toll road project goes to Investa Kusuma
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Public Works confirmed yesterday that it has appointed PT Investa Kusuma Artha as the developer of the 19.5-kilometer Cawang-Bekasi elevated toll road without a tendering process.
"We have appointed the company as the developer of the toll road but we did not announce it to the public because we did not tender the project," said Muksin, the chairman of the toll road management unit at the ministry, Antara reported.
He said that his ministry appointed Investa Kusuma without competitive bidding because it was the only company to bring up the idea of the toll road project and which immediately backed up the idea with a proposal for a feasibility study.
According to Muksin, for the first stage, the company will develop only 19.5 kilometers of the planned 30 kilometer toll road, which will connect Cawang in East Jakarta and Cikarang in West Java. It will be built above Malang river in East Jakarta.
He said that the government has yet to decide on the developer for the other 10.5 kilometers.
On Monday, Djoko Ramiadji, president of Drassindo Group, the holding company of Investa Kusuma; Bambang Trihatmodjo, chief commissioner of the Kresna Group; and Ryani R., president of PT Dryandra Panca Graha, signed an agreement to form a consortium to construct the toll road.
The signing came as a surprise because the government had not announced a tender for the road project, which it usually did with other toll road projects.
Djoko Ramiadji told the press on Monday that the consortium, led by Investa Kusuma, received a letter of approval from the Ministry of Public Works on Feb. 19, and will start construction of the toll road in July.
According to Bambang, the planned toll road will cost Rp 1.5 trillion (US$630.3 million) and it is scheduled to start operation in 2000.
Bambang said that about 30 percent of the total investment will be derived from equity and the rest will be provided by a loan from a syndication of local and foreign banks. He did not identify the banks.
The government, according to Muksin, has given high priority to the development of a toll road above the Malang river to help ease traffic congestion on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road during rush hour. (13)