Java-Sumatra bridge under study: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): The proposal to build a 26.9-kilometer bridge connecting Java and Sumatra is being studied by the Ministry of Public Works and the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar said yesterday his ministry and the agency were working on "terms of references" for the proposed bridge above the Sunda Strait.

Terms of references determining the project's technical standards would be needed before gaining government approval, he said.

"The draft terms of references will be submitted to investors so they can study the project's feasibility ," he said in a hearing with the House's Commission V for transportation, tourism, telecommunications and housings.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said earlier the proposed bridge was not feasible at least until 2018, as it would cost nearly half the 1997/1998 proposed state budget.

The bridge, estimated to cost Rp 50 trillion (US$21 billion), was proposed by a group of investors led by Ari Sigit, President Soeharto's grandson. Each kilometer of the toll bridge would cost Rp 2 trillion.

He also said the higher the bridge, the more it would cost: "Since Sunda Strait is in international waters, we have to determine the height of the bridge."

The ministry was also drafting terms of references for the Surabaya-Madura bridge in East Java and the Java-Bali bridge, both of which the government had given top priority, Radinal said.

The ministry is also studying feasibility of a 15-kilometer toll road connecting Depok and Jl. Pangeran Antasari, South Jakarta.

Radinal said four investors have been interested in the project, but did not elaborate.

The state-owned road operator Jasa Marga has not decided whether the toll road will be elevated but is considering the cost of the project, he said.

An elevated road would cost Rp 50 billion a kilometer, excluding land acquisition expenses, five times higher than constructing a regular road which is estimated about Rp 10 billion a kilometer, he said.

"Whether elevated or not, a toll road is needed for the route which is always congested and used by roughly 40,000 cars a day," he said.

Public Works has constructed 131 kilometer of toll roads in the past three years, lower than the expected 310 kilometers. (02)