PLUS eyes new concessions in Asia Pacific

PLUS Expressways has the potential to go abroad either to be an equity holder of a concession, participate on a joint venture basis or build a new highway, says its MD
PLUS Expressways Bhd, the country's largest toll highway operator, is eyeing more highway concessions in the Asia Pacific region as part of its expansion plans. "There are not many opportunities around, but we are always looking," Noorizah said in an interview. "We have the potential to go abroad either to be an equity holder of a concession, (participate) on a joint venture basis or start from scratch by building a new highway altogether," she added. Noorizah cited Vietnam as a country with great potential due to its burgeoning population and surging economic growth.

Today PLUS has operations in India and Indonesia, managing 25km and 116km of toll highways respectively, 94.1 per cent stake in PLUS BKSP Toll Ltd (India), 55 per cent stake in PT Lintas Marga Sedaya (Indonesia) and 60 per cent stake in PT Cimanggis Cibitung Tollways (Indonesia).

Among some of its new KPIs, PLUS aims to generate 15 per cent of its revenue from overseas by 2015 and achieve 5 per cent revenue growth by 2011. Built more than 20 years ago, PLUS is the toll concessionaire of the 997km North-South Expressway, which has a daily traffic volume of over one million vehicles.

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