Indonesia courts Hong Kong investors to build toll roads on Java as part of Widodo’s ambitious infrastructure plans
- Widodo is aiming to build motorways worth US$70 billion and stretching across 5,400km, triple the length of the current road network
- The road projects will be part of a US$400 billion plan to modernise Indonesia and boost economic growth
PT Waskita Toll Road, a unit of PT Waskita Karya that has been tasked with boosting connectivity across the archipelago, said the investors had expressed interest in buying its 40 per cent stake in two toll road segments in Java.
Herwidiakto, chief executive officer of PT Waskita Toll Road, said the value of the stake had yet to be determined.
“[The investors] are in the process of due diligence now [to assess and value the project]. We expect this to be completed by the end of July,” he said, declining to name the parties.
Previous bids by local and foreign investors for four other toll road segments did not work out, Herwidiakto said, but the company hoped it would be different for the 90km Solo-Ngawi toll road, and the 87km Ngawi-Kersatono toll road.
PT Waskita Toll owns 40 per cent in each of the projects, with the remainder held by other Indonesian companies.
Although the identity of the investors remain unclear, Brian Chan, a director at Indonesia’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Hong Kong said that the investors might come from mainland China.