Waskita Secures Crucial Loan for Pemalang-Batang Toll Road
Jakarta. State-controlled construction company Waskita Karya has secured a Rp 3.2 trillion ($240 million) syndicated loan from a group of local and international banks to finance the construction of the Pemalang-Batang toll road in Central Java.
State-controlled lender Bank Negara Indonesia acted as the lead arranger for the loan consortium, which also included Bank ICBC Indonesia, Bank Artha Graha, Bank Panin and several regional development banks.
Supriyono, president director of Pemalang-Batang Toll Road, the Waskita subsidiary tasked with building the road, said on Wednesday (24/05) that the loan amount is enough to finance a two thirds of the project's Rp 4.9 construction cost.
Supriyono said 96 percent of the road is functional, which means the surface is already hardened, or covered with thin concrete. The toll road will therefore be able to carry small cars and sedans during this year's Idul Fitri exodus, which will ease traffic on other routes.
To make the toll road fully functional and capable of carrying heavy-duty vehicles, the company would need to further reinforce the road surface with more concrete.
"With this loan, we are confident that the toll road construction will be completed in June next year," Supriyono said. He added that the company would likely seek more bank loans to finance the remainder of the project.
The 39-kilometer toll road is part of the Java toll road network, which will consist of uninterrupted highways crossing Indonesia's most densely populated island from west to east.
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