PT Lamtoro Gung proposes $2b road project in Manila

PT Lamtoro Gung proposes $2b road project in Manila

MANILA (AFP): PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, controlled by Indonesian President Soeharto's eldest daughter, has offered to build a two billion-dollar toll road in the Philippines, sources said yesterday.

The project, a joint venture with the state-controlled Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC), aims to build a network of skyways totaling 35.9 kilometers and 68.8 kilometers of toll roads in Manila.

Construction of a 12.2 kilometer skyway, the first phase of the project, is expected to start by late August or early September, public works department officials said.

The company has pledged to finish the skyway from the southern suburb of Sucat to the Makati financial district within two-to- three years for US$500 million, according to a project proposal submitted by the public works department to President Fidel Ramos.

It also plans to have 50 percent equity in the project, 10 percent in direct investment and 40 percent in bonds, which will be turned into equity upon project completion.

PT Citra vice chairman Djoko Ramiadji submitted the proposal to Ramos earlier this week, the sources said.

Public Works Secretary Gregorio Vigilar earlier said he expected the project to break ground in September.

There was no timetable given for the other projects, but Vigilar said the last three phases would cost $500 million each.

These include a skyway network linking the north and south Luzon expressways outside Manila.

Bilateral ties have been strained over the holding in Manila early this month of an international human rights conference on East Timor.