Higher toll fees?<\/p>\n
Toll road fees in Indonesia are expected to go up, even though
\nofficial word from the government has not been received. But from
\nthe proposal made by PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP), the
\ncompany which manages toll roads, such a conclusion can be drawn.<\/p>\n
The reason given by CMNP is quite simple. According to Teddy
\nKharsadi, a CMNP director, the company will fail to reach its
\nprojected profit unless proposals to increase the toll fees are
\napproved by the government. For the period up to December, CMNP
\nhas projected a before-tax profit of Rp 117 billion. This,
\nhowever, is based on the assumption that government approval for
\nthe toll fee increase is assured.<\/p>\n
So far the community has not objected to private parties
\nbuilding and managing toll roads. Nor have people ever questioned
\nthe toll road conditions, though jams and even accidents on toll
\nroads are considered common. All they know, from newspapers, is
\nthat compared to other countries such as Thailand, Malaysia or
\nthe U.S. toll road fees in Indonesia are among the highest.<\/p>\n
When we compare the situation with Malaysia's, toll road fees
\nin this country become highly questionable. In that neighboring
\ncountry, toll road fees are only about one ringgit (Rp 800), and
\nthe same fee is paid even by the motorist that drives from
\nKelantan State to Kuala Lumpur -- a distance of 700 kilometers.<\/p>\n
It is when things are viewed in this context that people start
\nasking whether the obsession to meet projected profits is really
\nan acceptable excuse for raising toll fees. This question becomes
\nespecially relevant when we consider the fact that, just for the
\nfirst semester of this year, CMNP has already netted a gross
\nprofit of Rp 53.11 billion.<\/p>\n
-- Republika, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/higher-toll-fees-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }