TJH set to be toll road operator

Durrant Pate/Contributor

The National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) is to commence negotiations with TransJamaican Highway Limited (TJH) for the new phase of the toll road.

The new leg of the highway, which is now under construction, runs from May Pen, Clarendon to Williamsfield in Manchester. The May Pen to Williamsfield leg, known as Phase 1C, is set to open during the third quarter of this year.

TJH, which is a publicly listed company, holds a 35-year concession for the construction, operation and maintenance of Highway 2000 East-West wing. The negotiations come as NROCC, a wholly owned government company with the responsibility for ensuring the implementation of Highway 2000, is preparing to negotiate on its right of first refusal for the operation of this leg of the highway, which is currently under construction.

Preparing to negotiate

TJH, in June 2021, notified NROCC that it would be exercising its right of first refusal. If successful, this section of roadway would add a further 28 km to current operations.

NROCC has now advised TJH that it expects to commence discussions on this matter in the coming weeks.

TJH reported earlier this month that it incurred a one-time settlement loss of US$13.9 million for its acquisition last December of subsidiary, Jamaican Infrastructure Operators Limited (JIO), which is the operator of the toll roadway.

The losses incurred are considered as settlement on pre-existing relationships between TJH and JIO.

While TJH incurred losses during the year as a result of its acquisition of JIO, the toll road concessionaire exhibited much resilience regarding its revenue, which continues to recover from the pandemic lows.

For the December quarter, TJH had revenues of US$18 million, reflecting an 18 per cent increase of US$2.7 million, compared to US$15.3 million recorded for the same period in 2021. This was attributable to the continued improvement in traffic following the lifting of the measures implemented to combat the spread of the COVID-19, in addition to the annual increase in toll tariff, which took effect in July 2022.

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 was US$65 million, compared to US$52.8 million for the same period in 2021, representing an increase of 23 per cent.