Citra Marga expects Rp 500 toll fee hike

JAKARTA (JP): PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, a toll road developer controlled by President Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, yesterday confirmed its proposal to the government for a Rp 500 (21 U.S. cents) increase in the toll road tariff.

"The new fee which we propose is based on a comprehensive analysis. Most importantly, it will not burden the public," Citra Marga's operational director, Bambang Soeroso, told journalists after an annual general meeting of the company's shareholders here yesterday.

"For that reason, we didn't propose an increase in the commuter fee, known as class I," Bambang added.

Last October, the government, through Presidential Decree No. 72/1995, raised the toll fee by Rp 500 for all categories.

Under the decree, the fee for class I was established at Rp 2,500 (up from Rp 2,000 previously), class IIA at Rp 3,500 (from Rp 3,000) and class IIB at Rp 4,500 (from Rp 4,000).

Class I is for small vehicles such as sedans, jeeps and small pickups. Class IIA is for trucks and class IIB, for container trucks.

Bambang said yesterday that Citra Marga will open the 6.3 km final section of its second toll road project in North Jakarta on June 19. The section, which connects Ancol Timur and Jembatan Tiga/Pluit, is a part of the Tanjung Priok-Jembatan Tiga road segment.

Another director, Teddy Kharsady, said that President Soeharto is expected to inaugurate the opening of the new section.

"We hope the government will establish a new fee before or at the time the Ancol Timur-Jembatan Tiga segment is opened," Teddy said.

Toll fees are usually determined by the government through a presidential decree.

Teddy said that the state-owned toll road developer, Jasa Marga, will also open its Grogol-Pluit section on the same day.

"It means the city's toll roads will increase by approximately 21 kilometers. Because we have adopted an open system, in which motorists pay the same fee for any distance they want to go, the proposed increase should be fair," Citra Marga's finance director, Tito Sulistio, said.

Tito said that the company gained a lower-than-expected profit growth last year because the last fee increase came too late.

"We should have opened our Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur section in May of last year, but we had to wait until October for the presidential decree."

"That is why Citra Marga's performance was lower than our expectations last year," Tito argued.

Teddy said that Citra Marga will operate approximately 30 kilometers of the city's 48-kilometer toll road, which connects Cawang in East Jakarta, Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and Grogol in West Jakarta.

Tito also said that in yesterday's meeting, the shareholders approved the management's proposal to issue one bonus share for one existing share.

He said that the bonus share issue, which will be completed on August 28, will double Citra Marga's paid-up capital to Rp 500 billion.

He said that the company will capitalize its capital gains accrued from the initial public offering for the bonus issue.

Tito added that the shareholders also gave approval for proposed final dividends of Rp 80 per share, totaling Rp 40 billion or 42 percent of the company's 1995 net profits of Rp 94 billion. (alo)