Govt to bulid alternative toll road
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang
In order to ease the congestion on the Jakarta-Merak toll road, the Tangerang Regency administration is planning a Rp 2 trillion (US$217.39 million) alternative toll road.
"Based on a feasibility study by the regency public works agency, which was just completed recently, the construction of the 30-kilometer toll road will benefit not only Tangerang regency and municipality, but also other parts of Greater Jakarta -- Bekasi, Bogor and Depok," Tangerang Regency Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Maryoso said during the weekend.
The toll road would connect the Balaraja and the Jakarta-Merak toll road at the Karang Tengah gate, Tangerang, via Tigaraksa.
"Through the new toll road, some of the 50,000 vehicles passing the Jakarta-Merak road can be transferred, reducing the burden on the existing toll road," Maryoso said.
"Vehicles traveling from Sumatra to Java can also use the new toll road. As for those heading to other areas in Greater Jakarta, they can use the BSD-Bintaro toll road before reaching the Pondok Indah-Jagorawi road as an alternative to avoid congestion in the central city."
Regent Ismet Iskandar said the construction of the Balaraja- Serpong toll road was only the first phase in the plan. It was expected to start early next year.
Phase two would be to link Balaraja to Kosambi via Mauk, connecting with the Prof. Dr. Ir. Sediyatmo toll, heading to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
As for the third phase, it will connect the Serpong and the Sediyatmo toll roads.
"We will need another feasibility study for the second and third phases of construction," Ismet said.
The planned construction was pending an approval from the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure, Maryoso said.
"After the ministry approves the project, the administration will invite prospective investors to bid for it." Many investors had shown their interest in the project, he said.
Maryoso added the winning investor would be required to fully finance the toll road construction before it could begin operating the toll.