E. Java legislators press govt on bridge project

E. Java legislators press govt on bridge project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A caucus of legislators from East Java called on Tuesday on
the government to honor its promise to build a 5.43 km-long
bridge connecting Surabaya and Madura island.

Caucus spokesman Heri Akhmadi said he would meet State
Minister for Research and Technology Hatta Radjasa to press this
demand.

"It's an urgent project. We have discussed its economic
advantage in public debates," Heri told reporters.

The caucus insisted that the bridge, to be called "Suramadu",
would be vital to improve economic activities between Surabaya
and Madura.

The bridge was envisioned in 1990 when then president Soeharto
assigned the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology
to form a consortium to take care of it. A decade later, nothing
has materialized.

It was estimated that the construction of the "Suramadu"
bridge would cost Rp 2.16 trillion (US$212 million).

The caucus hopes that the authority of BPPT be dropped and the
construction be jointly funded by a consortium of central
government, the regional administration, and the private sector.

The project has been suspended for a decade due to financial
as well as social problems. Many Madurese have openly objected to
the plan for fear that the bridge would over-accelerate
development in Madura, which would bring with it social problems,
such as prostitution.