Following the opening of the Suramadu Bridge, which now connects Java and Madura islands, the Riau Islands will offer a Rp 3.5 trillion (US$350 million) tender for the construction of a bridge to connect Batam and Bintan islands.
"With the tender offer we can identify which investors are serious and can build a quality bridge," Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah told The Jakarta Post recently.
Ismeth said several foreign investors, including the China Railway Company and a private company from Taiwan, had shown interest in building the 6.8-kilometer bridge.
He said the Chinese and Taiwanese investors had visited Batam and Bintan to study the feasibility of building the bridge. "They *the investors* are paying attention to developments in the planing for construction of the bridge."
He said the administration had conducted a feasibility study on the development of the bridge, which would connect industrial centers in Batam and Bintan.
Batam has several industrial estates while Bintan has several popular resorts as well as the Lobam industrial estate. Last year, 350,000 foreign tourists visited the island. Tanjung Pinang, the province's capital, is located on Bintan island.
"Currently, the two islands are connected by ferries. Connecting the islands with a bridge would benefit the islands," Ismeth, who once chaired the Batam Industrial Development Authority (BIDA), said.
The central government earlier declared Batam, Bintan and Karimun islands as a special economic zone.
The bridge would consist of three parts: a 2.2 kilometer stretch between Batam and Tanjung Sauh, a 3.9 kilometer stretch connecting Tanjung Sauh and Buau Island and a 700 meter stretch connecting Buau and Bintan.
"We let the investors fully finance the bridge development," Ismeth said.
He added his administration was currently preparing a cooperation scheme between investors and the administration.
Ismeth explained the administration will offer a retribution system to the investor that builds the bridge. "However, we have not yet decided the amount of retribution and the duration of the cooperation. But, it's for sure, the investors would profit from the project."
According to data from the Batam Free Trade Zone (formerly the BIDA), besides the two investors, other investors from Singapore, Malaysia and France have also expressed interest in building the bridge.
Managing the development of a bridge that connects islands is not new. In 1994, BIDA, which was then chaired by B.J. Habibie, started the development of the six part Barelang Bridge, which connects seven islands in the province: Batam, Tonton, Nipah, Setoko, Rempang Galang and Galang Baru..
BIDA completed the construction of the bridges in 1998 when Habibie was president of Indonesia.
The 5.4-kilometer-long Suramadu Bridge, which was inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 10, is the longest bridge in the country.
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