Mandiri, BRI, Bank Jabar to fund expressway project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Three local banks -- Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Jabar -- have agreed to extend a syndicated loan of Rp 1.79 trillion (US$197.1 million) to partly finance the construction of a turnpike project in West Java.

Under an agreement signed here Wednesday, Bank Mandiri will contribute Rp 1.1 trillion, BRI Rp 448 billion and Bank Jabar Rp 150 billion.

The total loan will account for 68 percent of the project's overall cost, which is estimated at some Rp 2.63 trillion.

The remaining 32 percent will be financed by PT Citra Waspphutowa, the developer of the 22.82-kilometer tollway, which will link Jl Pangeran Antasari in South Jakarta and Bojong Gede in Bogor.

Construction of the expressway project is expected to begin next year, with commercial operation starting in October 2009.

"The loan will have a floating interest rate and will mature in 11 years, including a two-year grace period dating from the initial operation of the toll road," Mandiri president director Agus Martowardojo told reporters following the signing of the loan agreement.

He said the loan would be disbursed as soon as Citra Waspphutowa had completed the land acquisition process, which has been underway since mid 2006, and is scheduled for completion in May 2008.

Citra Waspphutowa president director Winten Peradika said that his company, together with the local administrations, had completed land acquisition in a number of areas of Depok and Bogor, but had yet to acquire any land in Jakarta.

Citra Waspphutowa is a joint venture established last year by five companies -- PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP), PT Waskita Karya, PT Hutama Karya, PT Pembangunan Perumahan and PT Bosowa Trading International, with CMNP holding a 55 percent stake.

CMNP president director Daddy Hariadi said after the signing ceremony that his company would acquire a 7.5 percent stake in Bosowa Trading International, which planned to withdraw from the joint-venture company to focus on projects in South Sulawesi.

The Antasari-Depok-Bogor project is the 11th tollway project to be developed with the help of financing from Bank Mandiri.

The bank is also financing the construction of several other tollway projects, including the Kampung Melayu-Bekasi expressway in Jakarta, the Cikampek-Palimanan expressway in West Java, the Semarang-Batang expressway in Central Java and several segments of the Jakarta outer orbital route, with total financing from Mandiri amounting to Rp 13 trillion.