Indonesia Now Has 3,100 Km of Toll Roads, Total Investment Reaches Rp 779 Trillion
Jakarta - Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo stated that Indonesia now has approximately 3,100 kilometres of operational toll roads. The infrastructure is spread across roughly 76 sections and managed by 54 Toll Road Business Entities (BUJT).
The total investment poured into toll road construction, Dody noted, has reached around Rp 779 trillion. The sheer scale of this investment means the government must safeguard the sustainability of toll road concessions, including ensuring legal and contractual certainty for the BUJTs.
“Behind that enormous figure lies one asset that must be protected together: trust. Toll road concessions operate within a very strict and comprehensive regulatory framework and are based on long-term contracts. The toll road concession agreement must serve as a guiding principle for both the government and the business entities,” Dody said during a Focus Group Discussion held by the Indonesian Toll Road Association in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Dody assessed that toll road development is not solely aimed at extending inter-regional connectivity. The infrastructure must also be capable of stimulating economic activity, from opening access to industrial zones, ports, airports, special economic zones, to tourist areas.
“Toll roads must increasingly open access to industrial estates, ports, airports, special economic zones, tourist areas, and economic centres, so that connectivity itself can drive larger and more attractive investment,” he remarked.
Dody also revealed that a portion of Indonesia’s toll road investment comes from foreign investors, estimated at around Rp 36 trillion in the form of Foreign Direct Investment.
“In the current global era, investment to realise toll road infrastructure does not only focus on domestic sources; perhaps around Rp 36 trillion originates from FDI,” he disclosed.
According to him, the investment that has entered the toll road sector is a shared responsibility to protect. The government must therefore ensure that its policies do not disrupt business certainty and investor confidence.
“An investment of that magnitude is our collective obligation to safeguard,” he stressed.
Dody requested that the government not introduce new toll road policies unilaterally. He believes BUJTs need to be involved in discussions so that any policies taken can be properly matured beforehand.
“So I hope that if there are new policies, please invite the BUJTs to discuss them first,” Dody said.
He affirmed that the government is obliged to uphold legal and contractual certainty, while BUJTs must also fulfil all their obligations in accordance with the agreements made.
“We in the government must maintain legal and contractual certainty. BUJTs are obliged to meet their obligations, and the contracts that have been made by the government must be respected and upheld together, including contracts made by previous administrations,” he stated.
Should there be contracts that genuinely need adjustment, the process must be pursued through the applicable legal and contractual mechanisms, with service improvement remaining a priority.
“If adjustments are indeed necessary, we will pursue them through the prevailing legal and contractual mechanisms, with the public interest remaining the number one priority as our shared guiding principle,” he concluded.