Government has no plan to increase toll
Government has no plan to increase toll
JAKARTA (JP): The government has yet to consider the possibility of increasing the toll on the Cawang-Tanjung Priok- Ancol Timur-Priok urban highways, according to a minister.
Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar said that the government was instead concentrating on the completion of the highway network in the city to support the Indonesian Airshow scheduled for June, Antara reported yesterday.
"The government has yet to debate whether to increase the toll," he said.
Last week, the spokesman for PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, Iwan Hilman, said that the company might propose a 20% increase on the Cawang-Priok segment, which was built and is being managed by his company.
The existing tolls are Rp 2,500 for sedans and jeeps, Rp 3,500 for larger vehicles like buses and trucks, and Rp 4,500 for very large vehicles like articulated trucks.
Hilman said the proposal was reasonable as another 6.8 km toll road segment from Ancol Timur to Jembatan Tiga (Pluit) is scheduled to be operable in June. This means that the existing Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur urban turnpike (harbor road) will be extended to 13.13 kms.
"Constructing a new segment means more investment and a better service," Hilman said.
The company has invested a total of Rp 676 billion for the 13.13 km harbor road projects, Antara reported.
Hilman did not go into the details of the proposal, but said that it would be officially submitted to the government soon.
Minister Radinal said that the longer the highway, the more money that could be invested. "But to increase the toll would need serious and careful consideration. The toll must be affordable to the public," he said.
The government has just increased the toll for Tomang-Cawang- Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur.
The state highway corporation announced in mid October last year that charges for the Tomang-Cawang-Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur toll road would be raised by between 13 and 25 percent.
The new fee for small vehicles, such as sedans and jeeps (Class I), is Rp 2,500, Rp 500 more than the old tariff. The fee for large vehicles (Class IIA) is Rp 3,500, also an increase of Rp 500, while the new toll for very large vehicle (Class IIB) is Rp 4,500.
The decision, which triggered a public outcry, was made after the 6.4 km segment from Tanjung Priok to Ancol was constructed by PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada.
The private company collects three quarters of the toll revenues, while PT Jasa Marga gets the remaining quarter. (sur)