IBRA invites more investors to bid for toll road project
IBRA invites more investors to bid for toll road project
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)
will invite more investors to bid for the US$380 million Jakarta
Outer Ring Road toll project despite the recent appointment of
Malaysian consortium DRB-Hicom as the preferred bidder of the
project.
Syafruddin Temenggung, the secretary of the Financial Sector
Policy Committee said late last week the auction would be opened
as soon as the government issued the operating permit for the
toll road project.
"We will formally announce the auction in the printed media
soon after the permit is issued some time this week," he was
quoted as saying by Bisnis Indonesia.
The Jakarta Outer Ring Road was initially constructed under
a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme with PT Jasa Marga by three
companies, PT Citra Bhakti Margatama Persada, PT Citra Mataram
Satriamarga Persada and PT Marga Nurindo Bhakti, all of which
were partly owned by former president Soeharto's daughter Siti
Hardijanti Rukmana.
The toll road project, which would link all outlying areas of
Jakarta and ease traffic congestion in the capital, was suspended
in 1998 as part of the government's retrenchment program to cope
with the economic crisis.
IBRA then took over the toll road project after the three
companies failed to pay their debts of about Rp 1.07 trillion to
local banks.
The agency and state-owned toll operator PT Jasa Marga later
formed a joint venture company named PT Jalantol Lingkarluar
Jakarta (JPJ) to revive the project.
IBRA has named the Malaysian consortium as the preferred
bidder to take over the project after it agreed to provide Rp 800
billion for land acquisition supposed to come from the
government.
Syafruddin said that the consortium comprising four Malaysian
companies, Perspec BHD, Comrac BHD, Roadbuilder SDB BHD and
Ranhill Corporation SDN BHD, would be given the chance to match
the bidding made by the investor which wins in the auction.
"If DRB-Hicom is able to match the proposal of the selected
bidder, it will be allowed to carry out the project. But, if it
fails, the project will go to the auction winner," he added. (03)