Banten National Roads Left in Darkness; Andra Soni Coordinates Regency Governments and Ministry of Transportation

A coordination meeting regarding Public Street Lighting (PJU) was held at the Banten Governor’s Office in South Tangerang on Tuesday (19/05/2026). Attendees included representatives from various regencies and cities, the Regional Transportation Management Agency (BPTD), the Ministry of Transportation, PLN, and several other stakeholders.

“Today, all regional heads in Banten Province, together with the BPTD from the central government, are discussing and coordinating matters related to the national roads within Banten Province,” said Andra Soni.

According to Andra, the meeting was organised to align perceptions and data between the central, provincial, and regency/city governments regarding the management of street lighting on national road segments.

“The purpose of this meeting is to synchronise perceptions and data, and to align efforts so that we can address the issue of public street lighting collectively,” he stated. He added that the results of the meeting would be followed up technically to determine a joint solution for providing street lighting services to the public.

Based on the data discussed during the meeting, the total length of national roads in Banten Province reaches approximately 567 kilometres, spread across eight regencies and cities. The longest segments are located in the Lebak and Pandeglang regencies.

In addition to discussing the condition of national roads, the meeting highlighted the need for street lighting, which is estimated to reach 8,000 points across various strategic segments.

“The next steps will involve detailed technical coordination. Previously, we had not discussed this together; usually, responsibilities are split between the central, provincial, and regency/city levels. Now, we are aligning our perceptions and data. This is a shared responsibility,” said Andra.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Banten Provincial Transportation Agency, Tri Nurtopo, noted that many road segments under the authority of the central government in Banten still lack adequate street lighting. “There are still many national roads without lights. Some are installed by regencies/cities and funded by local budgets, while others are constructed using the State Budget (APBN),” said Tri.

He further explained that the primary issue discussed in the meeting was not merely the installation of street lights, but also the mechanisms for electricity payments and the maintenance of the lighting system. “The State Budget (APBN) only covers the provision and maintenance of the lamps. However, for the electricity payments, it is expected that the regencies and cities will provide the funding,” he concluded.