Citra Lamtoro Gung signs tollway investment accord

NEW YORK (JP): PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada of Indonesia and AIG Asia Infrastructure Fund of the United States signed an investment agreement here on Monday for the construction and maintenance of Philippine tollway projects in Manila.

The agreement, which was signed in a ceremony at the Mayfair Hotel in the presence of Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos, called for the participation of AIG in the ownership of Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation, the joint venture which will carry out the construction and maintenance of the projects -- tollway segments with a total length of 24.6 kilometers.

The agreement was signed by Citra Lamtoro Gung's President Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, AIG Chairman Maurice R. Greenberg and two representatives of the committee for the establishment of the joint venture, Bambang Soeroso of Indonesia and Ceza Quiambao of the Philippines.

Hardiyanti told reporters that with the participation of AIG, the joint venture, which will construct tollway segments at total costs of US$544 million, will be 20 percent owned by Philippine National Construction Company which is the Philippine state-owned company authorized to manage tollways, 55 percent by Citra Lamtoro Gung and 25 percent by AIG and a Philippine private company.

Out of the total cost, $257 million will be financed with long-term loans, $97 million with funds from the sales of convertible bonds, $60 million with funds from the floating of convertible preferred stocks, $100 million from equity and $30 million from revenues of the projects, she said.

Hardiyanti, better known as Tutut, explained that the projects consist of the maintenance of a 14.5-kilometer road segment and the construction of two new six-lane road segments with a combined length of 10.1 kilometers. (riz)