Metro Pacific, GIC closes $1-B Java deal

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), along with partner Singaporean investor GIC, has finalized the $1-billion deal to acquire a 35-percent stake in the company that holds the concession to the 676-kilometer (km) Trans-Java toll road network in Indonesia, expanding its tollway operations overseas.

The final closing came about two months after the transaction was initially signed last June, between MPTC subsidiaries PT Margautama Nusantara and PT Metro Pacific Tollways Indonesia Services as well as GIC, and PT Jasamarga Transjawa Tol (JTT), itself a subsidiary of Indonesian state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk.

“This milestone marks our significant expansion in the Indonesian toll road market,” MPTC CEO and president Rogelio Singson said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Our collaboration with GIC and Jasamarga underscores our commitment to expanding our portfolio by collaborating with the leading global investment firms and infrastructure providers,” Singson said.

Manuel Pangilinan, chair and president of MPTC parent company Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), previously said this deal would bring in P30 billion in annual revenues for the company.

The JTT road network, comprising 13 toll interchanges, traverses the provinces of West Java, Central Java and East Java. It serves 850,000 motorists daily.

The transaction will allow JTT to raise capital and expand toll road networks across Indonesia.

Earlier, Singson told the Inquirer they were set to build by the first quarter next year an elevated ring road on top of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR), which is also being operated by JTT.

He said they were crafting the detailed engineering design for the project intended to decongest JORR.

Apart from the JTT network, MPTC currently has concessions to operate four tollway projects, spanning nearly 39 km in total, in Indonesia. These include Jakarta Lingkar Baratsatu (Jakarta International Airport Toll Road), Bintaro Serpong Damai (Commuter Road), Jalan Tol Seksi Empat (Makassar International Airport Toll Road) and Makassar Metro Network (Harbour Road).

Meanwhile, MPTC operates in Vietnam a 120-km expressway network, which includes DT741, PRTC 1 and 2, Rach Mieu 2 and Co Chien.

Locally, the Pangilinan-led toll operator’s network spans 284 km. These include North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex), NLEx Connector, Cavite-Laguna Expressway, Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.

The Metro Pacific group is also establishing a potential mega tollway company with Ang-owned San Miguel Corp. after the parties announced collaboration last year for an 88-km toll road in Southern Tagalog.