Citra Lamtorogung to build $390m toll road in China
Citra Lamtorogung to build $390m toll road in China
JAKARTA (JP): The Citra Lamtorogung Persada Group has signed a
memorandum of understanding with China's state-owned Zhanjiyang
Expressway Co. (ZEC) to build a US$390 million toll road in
China.
ZEC is the sole license holder to build and operate toll roads
in China.
"Under the memorandum of understanding, Citra Lamtorogung and
ZEC agreed to form a joint operation body to prepare technical
and financial resources for construction of the toll road," the
group's chief executive officer, Bambang Soeroso, was quoted
yesterday by Bisnis Indonesia as saying after signing the deal
with ZEC's president, Jiang Shao Qin, in Beijing.
The signing ceremony took place on Thursday at the Indonesia
Opportunities exhibition. The Citra Group, controlled by
President Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti (Tutut) Rukmana,
was taking part in exhibition.
The planned toll road will stretch 166.34 kilometers to link
China's mainland with Hainan Island, which functions as the main
seaport for Guang Dong province and three other Chinese
provinces. It will be China's first toll road to be built under a
build, transfer and operate (BOT) contract.
The Guang Dong administration plans to build 434.4 kilometers
of toll roads across the province, including the 166.34-kilometer
toll road in Zhanjiyang, which is the only part of the project
being offered to foreign companies.
The Zhanjiyang toll road will also shorten the traveling time
from Zhanjiyang to Hong Kong and Macao.
Bambang said the Citra Group will not raise the funds for the
road project from sources in Indonesia but from the United
States, where it previously generated funds for its toll road
project in Manila.
On Thursday, the Citra Group also signed a memorandum of
understanding with China Jiang He Water Resources Corp. and China
Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research for the
development of a dam and a mini hydropower plant for rural
electrification in Indonesia. (jsk)