Government to start Suramadu project

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.