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)