Govt opens tender for 6 toll road projects totalling Rp 3 trillion<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
In the wake of the recent Infrastructure Summit, the government
\nwill begin the tender process for six toll road projects worth
\nmore than Rp 3 trillion (US$333 million) with the bidding process
\nexpected to be completed next month.<\/p>\n
"Currently, the tender process is in the pre-qualification
\nlevel with some 147 investors participating. The investors will
\nsoon submit their offer price for the projects," Minister of
\nPublic Works Djoko Kirmanto told The Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
According to Djoko, the investors -- mostly local business
\ngroups -- will bid on roads with a total length of more than 130
\nkilometers.<\/p>\n
The projects comprise the roads connecting Medan and Binjai in
\nNorth Sumatra; one through Makassar; another connecting Cikarang
\nand Tanjung Priok in Greater Jakarta; a toll road between Depok
\nand Jl. Antasari in South Jakarta; the Cinere and Jagorawi route
\nin Bogor; and the Sumedang to Cileunyi route in West Java.<\/p>\n
The six are part of the government's plan to build a total of
\n1,300 kilometers of toll roads over the next five years,
\neventually providing a direct linking between Merak, Banten on
\nthe extreme western tip of Java to Banyuwangi, East Java on the
\nextreme eastern tip of Java.<\/p>\n
Toll road projects are one of the government's top priorities
\nin developing the country's infrastructure. During the summit,
\nwhich ended on Jan. 18, the government put on offer 91
\ninfrastructure projects worth US$22.5 billion to domestic and
\ninternational investors. The budget is part of the government's
\ntotal need of around $150 billion for the development of various
\ninfrastructure facilities -- including the construction of a
\ntotal of 114,800 kilometers of roads worth Rp 214.2 trillion
\n(US$23.4 billion).<\/p>\n
The massive infrastructure projects are part of the
\ngovernment's effort to prevent congestion in distribution, which
\nsignificantly increases the cost of doing business here.<\/p>\n
The lack of highway capacity is apparent with daily congestion
\non most key roads that link one province to another in Java, the
\ncountry's main economic center.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Public Works, since 1978, the
\ncountry has only managed to build 606 kilometers of new highway,
\nor an average of 24 kilometers per year, on the country's total
\nland of about 1.9 million square-kilometers.<\/p>\n
In order for the country to reach 6 to 8 percent Gross
\nDomestic Product (GDP) growth, the government is estimated to
\nneed approximately US$30 billion annually for infrastructure
\ninvestments.<\/p>\n
The government is committed to spending approximately 20
\npercent of the state budget on infrastructure, but needs the
\ninternational and domestic private sectors to pay for the bulk of
\nit.<\/p>",
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