Madhu Koneru MEC Holdings Eyes Funding for Kalimantan

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MEC Holdings Eyes Funding for KalimantanMadhu
KoneruExecutive Vice Chairman
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MEC Holdings Eyes Funding for Kalimantan
MEC Holdings is seeking more loans from local
commercial banks to help finance its big
investment in development projects in East
Kalimantan, an executive said on Tuesday. MEC
has placed a billion dollars on infrastructure
construction. It has secured a lending deal with
international lenders and is looking for possible
lending from national commercial banks, Charles
Gaylord Watkins, an MEC director, said on the
sidelines of the Indonesia International
Infrastructure conference in Jakarta. The nation
is hosting a three-day forum on developing the
nation. At the meeting, which was organized by
the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Kadin), the government is offering projects such
as roads, seaports and airports to foreign
investors.
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MEC Holdings Eyes Funding for Kalimantan
Watkins said the company, a subsidiary of the
Dubai-based Trimex Group, had already secured a
commitment from US lenders Standard Chartered
Bank and Export-Import Bank. Trimex had held
several discussions with Indonesian banks, he
continued, but had yet to receive any loan
commitments. Madhu Koneru, executive vice
chairman of MEC Holdings, said in July that
Standard Chartered was ready to lend 750 million
to the company. MEC has secured 5,000 hectares
of land in East Kalimantan for its infrastructure
work, Watkins said. The project includes 130
kilometers of railway, a seaport and a mine for
low-grade coal. The mine is expected to produce
two million to three million tons of coal in the
first year before rising to seven million tons by
the end of 2014, while the port will be able to
harbor two cape-sized ships and have a holding
capacity of 34 million tons.
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MEC Holdings Eyes Funding for Kalimantan
The project will start as soon as we are clear
on the financing, Watkins said. The company
first announced the project in 2009, but a delay
in land acquisition caused MEC to postpone the
project. The companys Web site shows the land
acquisition was finalized last year. Watkins
said he appreciated the governments effort to
improve regulations. He said investors were not
the only thing the government needs to secure,
but also making it easier to implement
investment. Coordinating Minister for the
Economy Hatta Rajasa said the government had a
number of policies to ease infrastructure
investment. They include land reform to prevent
uncontrollable
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MEC Holdings Eyes Funding for Kalimantan
price increases and securing land for the public
interest. The land acquisition bill is in the
final stages in the legislature, Deputy Finance
Minister Anny Rachmawati said. Vice President
Boediono reiterated the states commitment to
development at the conference. We will do our
part to minimize the risk in infrastructure
investment, he said. Source http//www.thejak
artaglobe.com/archive/mec-holdings-eyes-funding-fo
r-kalimantan/435072/