PT Waskita Sriwijaya Tol (WST) has received additional capital injection of IDR 462.61 billion (US$ 30.53 million) to optimize its performance.
Established in 2011, WST received license for the toll road project Kayu Agung-Palembang-Betung section with a concession for 50 years. The company was originally named PT Sriwijaya Markmore Persada (SRIMP) before being acquired by PT Waskita Toll Road (WTR), a subsidiary of state-owned construction company PT Waskita Karya Tbk.
Toll road completion
Waskita Sriwijaya will accelerate the completion of Kayu Agung-Palembang-Betung Toll Road (Kapal Betung) section, which spans of 111.69 kilometers. The construction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023 through the additional capital.
On a disclosure agreement, the company received additional capital through an issuance of shares, which was taken by WTR. The WST’s portion became 99.67% from the previous 92.53% with 3.34 million shares or IDR 3.34 trillion. Meanwhile, the remaining ownership of WST is still held by Regional Company (PD) Bende Seguguk (0.18%) and PD Prodexim (0.15%).
Risks in the region
However, there are persistent problems in the toll road project. According to finance.detik.com in 2022, there were several car crash accidents on the toll road due to bad road condition.
“There are allegations of negligence on the part of the Palembang-Lampung toll road manager. To prevent the accident from occurring, there must be comprehensive investigative steps for accountability, both civil and criminal, on the part of the toll road manager,” Budiyanto, an observer on transportation problems and law, wrote to kompas.com, on January 10, 2022.
