CONSTRUCTION OF TRANS-SUMATRA TOLL ROAD FINALLY BEGINS By Fardah

Jakarta, May 2, 2015 (Antara) -- The plan to construct the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road, which will stretch over two thousand kilometers from south to north Sumatra, was made in 2012.

         Three years later, in April 2015, the groundbreaking ceremony of this ambitious project was finally held and officiated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

         President Jokowi laid the first cornerstone of the Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar Lampung segment of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road in Sabahbalau village, South Lampung district, Lampung province, which is located in the southern part of Sumatra Island, on April 30.

         The project's Bakauheni-Terbanggi Lampung segment is 140.41 kilometers long and covers the three districts of South Lampung, Pesawaran, and Central Lampung.

         The segment stretches over 104.7 kilometers in South Lampung, 5.60 kilometers in Pesawaran, and 30.11 kilometers in Central Lampung.

         In addition, the under-construction Trans-Sumatra Toll Road will be integrated with Lampung's Bakauheni Harbor, which mostly accommodates ferries crossing over from the island of Sumatra to Java.

         "The toll road will be integrated with Bakauheni Harbor, where the number of piers will be increased from the current five to eight," the head of state affirmed while inaugurating the commencement of the construction of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road.

         Jokowi is optimistic that the toll road will help to boost the country's economic growth and improve the efficiency of the inter-provincial transportation system.   
    According to the head of state, the toll road will make traveling between provinces faster, more efficient, and cost-effective.

         With the toll road, travel time between Lampung and Palembang, South Sumatra province, will take only three hours instead of the current 10 hours.

         Furthermore, the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is unique because the government plans to build a railway network, as well as a high-voltage electricity network, along the stretch. These will run parallel to the toll road.

         He also pointed out that with toll roads, the flow of goods will be smooth and products can be sold to the people expeditiously.

         Therefore, the government has made infrastructure the focus of its current development projects, he noted.

         The Trans-Sumatra Toll Road will be 2,048 kilometers long and 12.5 meters wide, and is divided into four main corridors and three priority corridors.

         The four main corridors are Lampung-Palembang (358 kilometers), Palembang-Pekanbaru (610 kilometers), Pekanbaru-Medan (548 kilometers), and Medan-Banda Aceh (460 kilometers).

         The three priority corridors are Palembang-Bengkulu (303 kilometers), Pekanbaru-Padang (242 kilometers), and Medan-Sibolga (175 kilometers).

         The government is currently focusing on the construction of the 300-kilometer-long Bakauheni-Palembang segment of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road.

         The Palembang-Aceh segment will be its next target, the construction of which will begin in 2016.

         President Jokowi particularly lauded the Lampung provincial administration for expediting the construction work on the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road's Lampung segment.

         "I highly appreciate the accelerated construction of the toll road in Lampung. The development must not be stopped," President Jokowi stated.

         "If there is a troublemaker hampering the construction of the toll road, report to me," he stressed.      
    The head of state hoped that the 140-kilometer-long Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar Lampung segment of the road is completed within three years.

         For the construction of the Bakauheni-Palembang stretch, the government has allocated a funding of Rp40 to Rp45 trillion.

         Moreover, Mayor of Bandarlampung Herman H. N. recently expressed hope that the construction of the 150-kilometer-long Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar section of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road would be accelerated to reduce the number of trucks and container carriers passing through Bandarlampung.

         "We hope the construction of the Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar section will be completed soon so that trucks and container carriers no longer have to pass through the city's streets," Herman stated in Bandarlampung, the capital of Lampung province, in March 2015.

         "The presence of the Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar section of the toll road is very beneficial economically because it will boost regional economic growth," Herman remarked.

         Furthermore, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono told journalists after attending a limited cabinet meeting chaired by President Joko Widodo in Jakarta in March 2015 that to support the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road project, the Presidential Decree on the Acceleration of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road Construction, which involves PT Hutama Karya, will be revised.

         The revision is required to enable other state-owned enterprises to participate in the project.

         "The construction of the toll road cannot be handled by a single party. It requires other state companies to participate," he noted.

         According to Hadimuljono, the sections of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road that are currently under construction are the Medan-Binjai section, the Palembang-Indralaya section, the Bakauheni-Tanjung Api-Api section, and the Pekanbaru-Dumai section.

         The Pekanbaru-Dumai stretch is expected to begin functioning before 2018, he affirmed.

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(T.F001/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 02-05-2015 22:45:44