Citra Group plans public offering for skyway unit

MANILA, Philippines - The Citra Group of Indonesia plans to take a newly-formed holding company that owns the majority interest in Skyway concessionaire Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. (CMMTC) public either in Hong Kong, Singapore or the Philippines.

 The new firm called AAI holds the shares of four Indonesian firms – Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, Bhaskara Duniajaya and Matra Sarana Arsitama in the elevated tollroad built above the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

Shadik Wahono, president of PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, said the listing could take place in the first semester of 2012.

Wahono earlier said the group was ready to invest $1.5 billion in new tollroad projects which include phases 3 and 4 of Metro Manila’s Skyway.

The group has submitted to the government a proposal to undertake stage 3, a 14.2-kilometer elevated road from Buendia, Makati to Balintawak, Quezon City. Once it is completed by 2015, it will be capable of handling 60,000 vehicles.

On the other hand, Stage 4 known as as Metro Manila Expressway, a component of the C6 Road, involves the construction of a 57-km at-grade expressway that will link the Skyway System at FTI in the South with the North at San Jose del Monte.

Already, the group, which has built its presence in the Philippines since 1995, has already raised the necessary funding to support the third and fourth phases of the Skyway project and new tollroad projects.

The road will be connected in the north to Segment 10, which will be constructed through the cities of Caloocan and Valenzuela. The connector road is expected to have four entry and exit points at the C-3 Road in Caloocan, Buendia in Makati and España, and Quirino Avenue in Manila.

The project is expected to attract more investments to the south of the Manila area. It will also enhance trade, delivery of goods and services situated in Metro Manila and Southern Luzon.