Government to start Suramadu project
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government will start the construction of a 5.43-kilometer toll bridge in East Java in February 2003, after a feasibility study and a detailed engineering design are completed, a minister has said.
Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno said the government had allocated some Rp 2.3 trillion (US$255 million) for the planned Suramadu bridge, which is aimed at providing a connection between the East Java capital of Surabaya and the impoverished island of Madura.
Speaking at a hearing with House Representatives Commission IV for transportation and regional infrastructure affairs Soenarno said a special team had been assigned to complete the feasibility study.
"The team will finish their study in October, and after that the detailed engineering design will follow," he said.
The team consists of experts from the ministry, the provincial government of East Java, the Institute Technology of Surabaya and the University of Pembangunan National Veteran.
Concerning the budget, Soenarno said that the local administration would contribute Rp 300 billion, state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga would give Rp 300 billion, the central government would give Rp 200 billion, and the government of Kuwait would contribute Rp 1.5 trillion in the form of a loan.
However, the minister said that the loan from Kuwait had yet to arrive.
The 21-meter-wide Suramadu bridge will take up a total of 7.85 hectares of land in Surabaya, and another 35 hectares in Madura. A 6.6 hectare parcel of land in Surabaya and a 5.8 hectare parcel of land in Madura have been acquired for the bridge's construction.
In Surabaya, the project will start at the Tambak Wedi subdistrict in the coastal area of Kenjeran, and will end in the Bangkalan regency on the island of Madura.
Surabaya is Indonesia's second largest and economically prominent city after Jakarta.
With one year needed to complete preparation work, including the land acquisition process, it will take about four years in total to complete the project, which has been put on hold for 12 years.
The bridge is part of the Surabaya urban toll road network from the Waru flyover to Tanjung Perak port.
The function of the bridge is in line with the East Java plan to move its container port from Tanjung Perak to Madura; the port handles at least 1.3 million containers annually.