State toll road operator PT Jasa Marga was upbeat with its proposal to increase toll road tariffs that is says is in keeping with its contracts.

The publicly listed company has announced plans to increase tolls on 11 of 13 toll roads under its

management.

The planned tariff increase, which would take place in August, is currently under review by

the Indonesian Toll Road Authority (BPJT), an agency under the Public Works Ministry that was set up in 2005.

Jasa Marga secretary Okke Marlina was upbeat that BPJT would approve the proposal that would allow his company to increase the tariffs between 17 and 20 percent.

“We have fulfilled our contractual service standards,” Okke said, adding that the company had not increased the tolls on those roads for the past two years as stipulated in the contract.

Under existing contracts, toll road operators are allowed to increase tariffs every two years.

The adjustments are based largely on estimates of cumulative inflation over the August 2007 to August 2009 period — around 14 percent, she said.

Jasa Marga’s optimism was shared by Said Didu, the secretary of the State Ministry for State Enterprises, who said it was stipulated in Jasa Marga’s contracts and that the government had no option but to guarantee investors’ rights.

To increase the tariff did not require approval from the House of Representatives, Said added.

“Before constructing those toll roads, investors and the government discussed the concept and criteria for increasing toll tariffs,” he said.

Provided Jasa Marga fulfilled other criteria in the contract, the increase was inevitable, he said.

Publicly listed Jasa Marga operates a total of 13 toll roads, but plans to increase the tariff in only in 11 of these because the tariffs for the other two — Jakarta-Cikampek and Sediatmo (Jakarta-airport) — were increased in 2008.

The 11 toll roads to see tariff increases include the Jagorawi (Jakarta-Bogor-Ciawi) and the Cipularang (Cikampek-Purwakarta-Padalarang) routes.

In addition to its existing 13 toll roads, Jasa Marga is currently building several new roads including the Bogor Ring Road in West Java, the Semarang-Solo toll road in Central Java, the Gempol-Pasuruan toll road in East Java and the Surabaya-Mojokerto toll road in East Java.

The company raked in Rp 367.7 billion in operational profits this quarter, representing a 1.6 percent increase from Rp 361.9 billion it earned in the first quarter of 2008.

Jasa Marga’s net profits also increased to Rp 196 billion, up by 4 percent from 2008.

The company expects the planned increase will help boost its full-year revenue to Rp 3.69 trillion, from Rp 3.35 trillion in 2008.

The government is currently pushing infrastructure projects (including roads) to stimulate the economy and fortify it against impacts of the global downturn.

According to a survey by PT Mandiri Sekuritas, toll road companies are expected to boost

capital expenditure this year by a whopping 309 percent, to $409 million. (naf)

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