The country\u2019s biggest toll-road operator said on Friday that it wanted to participate in the development of the massive Sunda Strait Bridge project, but urged the government to play a bigger role in financing the project, saying it was not currently attractive to international investors.<\/p>\n
Frans Sunito, president director of PT Jasa Marga, said the Rp 100 trillion ($10.7 billion) bridge would probably never be completed if the government relied on private investors to contribute the majority of the project\u2019s financing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will take too long for them to reach the break-even point [on their investments] even if the project included tax holidays and supporting regulations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Frans said the project should be pursued because it would provide huge economic benefits to the people of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would help some neglected areas in Sumatra as the traffic of goods and services would increase significantly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The plan calls for a 30 kilometer bridge spanning the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Eighty percent of all Indonesians live on the two islands.<\/p>\n
The project would consist of a series of spans carrying a six-lane highway and double-track railway that would also traverse the islands of Prajurit, Sangiang and Ular.<\/p>\n
The longest span of the bridge is projected to be about three kilometers, more than 50 percent longer than the longest span of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, the longest in the world.<\/p>\n
The bridge could be operational as soon as 2020, with construction scheduled to begin in 2012 - if the government finds funding for it.<\/p>\n
Hatta Rajasa, the coordinating minister for the economy, told reporters on Friday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had a vision of \u201cisland connectivity,\u201d which he believed was an inevitable part of globalization and the country\u2019s future development.<\/p>\n
In line with this vision, Yudhoyono wanted to see the Sunda Strait Bridge project completed, Hatta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have two or three \u2018pre-feasibilty\u2019 studies from the local governments at Lampung and Banten,\u201d said Hatta, adding that the studies included data on tectonic plates, ocean currents and maps of the ocean floor.<\/p>\n
The initial \u201cpre-feasibility\u201d study was conducted by PT Bangungraha Sejahtera Mulia, a subsidiary of Artha Graha Networks, a company owned by tycoon Tommy Winata.<\/p>\n
However, Hatta said it was highly unlikely that financing for the project would be determined within the new government\u2019s first 100 days.<\/p>\n
Indrajaja Manopol, the chief financial officer at PT Adhi Karya, one of the country\u2019s biggest state-owned construction companies, said he and three other construction state enterprises were ready to help develop the bridge.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/state-financing-urged-for-sunda-strait-bridge-1258166663", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }