MPTC starts toll road project in Indonesia

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has commenced construction of a P2.7 billion toll road project in Indonesia, which is targeted for completion by early next year.

PT Bintaro Serpong Damai, which is majority owned by MPTC, broke ground on Feb. 7 for the construction of the  Makassar New Port Access Toll Road (MNP) in Indonesia.

The MNP project, which costs approximately $53 million or around P2.7 billion, will span about 3.2 kilometers and will directly provide access to the Makassar Port in South Sulawesi.

It will connect the Makassar Port to Makassar City through other toll road projects of MPTC in Indonesia.

“MNP is expected to encourage economic growth, aid in the distribution, logistics and the facilitation of export and import routes, as well as ease the congestion of traffic for the delivery of goods and logistics transportation with its direct access to the Makassar Port,” MPTC said.

Construction of the MNP, which is a national strategic project of the government of Indonesia, will be carried out in three stages and is targeted to be completed in early 2023, according to MPTC.

MPTC president and CEO Rodrigo Franco earlier said the company was not abandoning its overseas expansion aspirations even after its exit in Thailand last year.

Aside from Indonesia, MPTC has a presence in Vietnam.

MPTC, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., is alloting P30 billion for capital expenditures this year to finish a number of tollway projects and start pumping up its new mobility solutions unit.

It is the country’s largest tollways builder and operator.