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.