Government to let select toll road projects continue: Rozik<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government will allow half-finished toll
\nroad projects to continue amid signs of economic recovery, State
\nMinister of Public Works Rozik Boedioro Soetjipto said.<\/p>\n
"We are currently listing all toll road projects that have
\nbeen put on hold to see whether they can continue. The projects
\nwhich are half-finished will be given priority to continue,"
\nRozik said on Tuesday during a visit to The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said the government would help project owners search for
\nloans to complete the projects.<\/p>\n
But he did not mention when the projects could be continued.<\/p>\n
The government has put on hold 40 toll road projects worth Rp
\n105 trillion (US$35.6 billion) across the country as part of the
\nretrenchment program to cope with the economic crisis, which hit
\nthe country in the middle of 1997.<\/p>\n
Most of the projects belong to former president Soeharto's
\nfamily and cronies.<\/p>\n
Of the 40 toll road projects, 13 were under construction or in
\nthe process of acquiring land, while the remaining 27 were still
\nin the planning stages when the government postponed them in late
\n1997.<\/p>\n
Rozik said one of the toll road projects that would be allowed
\nto continue was the Jakarta Outer Ring Road.<\/p>\n
The planned 60 kilometer toll road is designed to link all
\noutlying parts of Jakarta and, as such, will ease traffic jams in
\nthe inner part of the city.<\/p>\n
Some parts of the ring road were completed but other parts
\nwere still under construction or in the preparation stage.<\/p>\n
The parts of the ring road which are still under construction
\nare the 11.17 km Pondok Pinang-Kebon Jeruk road project owned by
\nPT Citra Mataram Satya Marga Persada, the 26.25 km Taman Mini
\nIndonesia Indah-Cikunir road project owned by PT Marga Nurindo
\nBhakti and the Kebon Jeruk-Penjaringan road.<\/p>\n
The part of the ring road which is still in the preparation
\nstage is the section linking Cilincing and Tanjung Priok.<\/p>\n
Rozik earlier said an estimated Rp 6.5 trillion in investment
\nwas needed to complete the projects.<\/p>\n
Another toll road project which is still under construction is
\nthe Waru-Tanjung Perak toll road project in Surabaya, East Java,
\nowned by PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP) and controlled
\nby Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the ministry's secretary, Sunaryo Sumadji, said the
\ngovernment would cut budget allocations for public road projects
\nacross the country in the next fiscal year by 50 percent to about
\nRp 1.5 trillion from Rp 3 trillion at present.<\/p>\n
With the lower budget, he said the government would not be
\nable to maintain all existing road networks, let alone build new
\nroads.<\/p>\n
"The budget allocation is not sufficient even for the
\nmaintenance of all existing road networks," Sunaryo said.<\/p>\n
He said prior to the crisis, the government allocated Rp 3
\ntrillion for public road projects per year, about 50 percent of
\nwhich was used for the maintenance of existing road networks and
\nconstruction of new roads. (jsk)<\/p>",
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