The merger of the tollways businesses of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is making significant progress.

MPIC chairman and president Manuel V. Pangilinan confirmed on Tuesday that the Indonesian assets of his company will be considered in the valuation.

“The tollways merger is making progress. I think we will sign an agreement within the year, definitely, in the next few months but it’s subject to government approval,” Pangilinan said during a spot interview at the sidelines of a memorandum of agreement signing.

As early as February, Pangilinan said the capital market may see the debut of the tollways merger within the year.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the toll road arm of MPIC, last week said it aims to close its investment in Indonesian toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Tbk’s Transjawa Tol within the third quarter of the year.

Preferred bidder

MPTC chief finance officer Christopher C. Lizo said the company and its partner were Jasa Marga’s preferred bidder. As such, the contract is likely to be awarded by the end of the month.

\“We are the preferred bidder and we are still negotiating with Jasa Marga. Hopefully, we will close the negotiation (within) the month and be awarded by the end of May and close the investment by July or August,” Lizo said.

MPTC tapped a consortium led by Singapore’s GIC to bid for a 35 percent stake in Jasamarga Transjawa Tol, which oversees toll road networks across Central Java, West Java, and East Java.

Initially, MPTC estimated that its investments in the Indonesian toll project could reach as much as $600 million or roughly P34.63 billion at current rates.

The Trans Java Toll Road, which spans over 676 kilometers, constitutes 56 percent of the cumulative length of toll roads owned by the Jasa Marga Group. This vital infrastructure accommodates a substantial traffic volume of approximately 900,000 vehicles.

MPIC owns 99.9 percent of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., or MPTC, which holds the concession rights for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, Cavite Expressway, North Luzon Expressway, NLEX Connector Road, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.

Significant stake

MPTC, through Metro Pacific Tollways Asia, also has a significant stake in two major infrastructure companies in the Pan-ASEAN region: a 76.31 percent share in PT Nusantara Infrastructure in Indonesia and a 44.9 percent share in CII Bridges & Roads of Vietnam.

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