Over 25% of West Java highways badly damaged<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
At least a quarter of the 2,300 kilometers of highways in West
\nJava are in a serious state of disrepair and repair work has been
\nhampered by the stalled disbursement of state funds.<\/p>\n
The head of West Java Bina Marga road management office Zaenal
\nArifin told a hearing with the provincial legislative council's
\ncommission D overseeing forestry, road and building
\ninfrastructure that the figure was based on his office's data.<\/p>\n
\"Repair work will only start in July to sort out 80 percent of
\nthe roads that are in disrepair, because bureaucratic procedures
\nhave delayed the disbursement of the fund,\" he said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said the 575 kilometers of damaged highways spread across
\nthe province are mostly used as roads for vehicles carrying food
\nand vegetable supplies to Jakarta, such as the Purwakarta to
\nSadang route.<\/p>\n
Zaenal said his office will complete proposals for the repair
\nwork later this month, but will not be able to start the project
\nimmediately.<\/p>\n
\"We first have to offer the project to contractors under a
\ntender system,\" he said, adding that the repair work will only
\nbegin at least 46 days after the winner is announced, and is
\nexpected to finish next August.<\/p>\n
Zaenal said the damage partly stemmed from natural factors,
\nsuch as floods and landslides following heavy rains. However, he
\nadmitted human error played the most destructive role, as trucks
\nwith excessive loads were frequently allowed to pass along the
\nhighways freely.<\/p>\n
As an example, he said many large trucks loaded with 50 tons
\nused the province's roads daily. Highways should accommodate
\nvehicles with a maximum load of eight tons.<\/p>\n
\"We have received a report from Purwakarta Police claiming
\nthat at least 4,000 overloaded trucks pass along the Sadang to
\nPurwakarta route every day,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It is common in Indonesia for truck drivers to bribe police
\nwho stop their vehicles for exceeding official weight loads.<\/p>\n
In a response to Zaenal's statement, a local councillor,
\nspeaking at the same hearing, blamed the damage on fraudulent
\ndevelopers who used poor quality construction materials for road
\nrepair projects.<\/p>\n
\"In order to increase their profits, they mix the road
\nmaterial with cheap stuff. As a result, the roads quickly fall
\napart,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Zaenal added the provincial administration allocated only Rp
\n170 billion from the budget last year to repair damaged roads,
\neven though more than Rp 1 trillion was needed for the projects.<\/p>\n
The Rp 170 billion fund was only 15.7 percent of Rp 1.9
\ntrillion collected from vehicle taxes.<\/p>\n
He suggested that at least 30 percent of the tax, the largest
\nsource of revenue in West Java, be allocated for this year's road
\ndevelopment projects.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/over-25-of-west-java-highways-badly-damaged-1447893297",
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