Indonesia's Wealth Fund Inks US$2.7 Billion Toll Road Investment Deals

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar JAKARTA, April 15 (Bernama) -- The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) has inked toll road investment deals with infrastructure developers PT Hutama Karya and PT Waskita Karya worth US$2.7 billion (US$1 = RM4.23), President Joko Widodo said. Speaking at the signing ceremony today, he said the deals are expected to speed up the country’s toll roads construction and build the trust of both domestic and foreign investors in the financial management of the INA. At the event, the country’s sovereign wealth fund sealed a heads of agreement with state-owned construction enterprise Hutama Karya for several sections of the Trans Sumatera toll road. It also inked confirmation of transaction commencement for several Trans Java toll road sections with PT Waskita Toll Road, a subsidiary of Waskita Karya, which is another state-owned construction firm. Last year, INA inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish an investment platform with a commitment of up to US$3.75 billion for investment in the toll road sector. It was signed with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, APG Asset Management, and Canadian fund management company Caisse de dépôtet placement du Québec. Over the past seven years, Indonesia has built 1,900 kilometres (km) of toll roads compared to only 780km before 2014. -- BERNAMA