AHY Reviews Singkawang Airport Access, Urges Strengthening of Border Infrastructure
Singkawang — Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) inspected the construction of the Singkawang Airport Access Road, about 10 kilometres long, linking the national road to the city centre of Singkawang, on Monday, 2 March 2026. AHY said the road’s existence plays a crucial role in strengthening connectivity and driving economic growth in Singkawang and its surrounding area in West Kalimantan.
The Singkawang Airport has now become one of the backbone connectivity nodes in West Kalimantan, especially for Singkawang and its surroundings. This access road is very important because it significantly reduces travel time. Before the road was built, travel time from the national road to the airport was about 30 minutes. Now, journeys can be completed in around five minutes once the 10-km stretch is fully connected.
The construction has been carried out in stages from 2023 to 2025 with a total budget of around Rp115 billion. In 2023, the access was opened as an earth road. Subsequently, 4 kilometres were paved in 2024 and the remaining 6 kilometres were completed in 2025, bringing the entire route to asphalt.
AHY explained that the main challenge of the project lay in the peat soil and swamp conditions. Consequently, the structural reinforcement was carried out by installing piles as deep as 4–6 metres at a spacing of around 40 centimetres, and using stabilised geotextile prior to paving.
In general the road is two lanes, although four lanes would be ideal. At present only about 150 metres near the airport are four-laned. In the future it will be developed in accordance with needs and public expectations, of course with careful budgeting.
To widen the whole stretch to four lanes would require an additional budget of around Rp50 billion.
In addition to inspecting the airport access, AHY received a briefing on the condition of the national road network in West Kalimantan, which runs about 2,000 kilometres. He said 95–97 per cent were in good condition, although some sections still have a width of 4.5–5 metres, short of the ideal 7 metres.
He also highlighted the construction of roads in the West Kalimantan–Malaysia border area, spanning around 600 kilometres, from Temajuk to Putussibau. About 300 kilometres are currently paved, while completing the entire stretch is estimated to require around Rp8 trillion.
According to him, the border road development has strategic value not only from defence and security considerations as the country’s front line, but also economically because the area is surrounded by oil palm plantations and other productive activities.
“We have come to push for and ensure that infrastructure development continues and makes progress. Budget challenges always exist, both at the centre and in the regions. Our task is to bridge and ensure synergy between the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PU) technically and the regional governments so that development proceeds sustainably,” he said.
He also warned of the importance of maintaining built infrastructure so that its benefits can be felt in the long term.
AHY’s visit to Singkawang coincided with the Cap Go Meh festival, an annual cultural programme on national and international scale. He said adequate infrastructure is the foundation for supporting tourism and the region’s creative economy.
The inspection was attended by Asep Syarip Hidayat, Director of Road Construction, Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Public Works (PU); Chandra S, Head of the West Kalimantan National Roads Implementation Centre (BPJN Kalbar); Singkawang Mayor Tjhai Chui Mie.
AHY was also accompanied by Special Staff to the Coordinating Minister, namely Agust Jovan Latuconsina, Herzaky Mahendra Putra, Inspector General Arif Rachman, and a Technical Advisor, Yudhi Prasetyo.