Java-Sumatra tunnel

Java-Sumatra tunnel

From Koran Tempo

The government has estimated that in early 2005 it will start constructing a 33-km long tunnel some 40 meters under the sea that will connect Java and Sumatra islands. This project will cost about US$15 billion and the funding will come from a European Union consortium along with a number of domestic investors.

I agree that the construction of an underwater tunnel that will connect Java and Sumatra islands will benefit people, particularly the communities on these two islands. That is why the government must ensure that the project will really be realized as planned.

To ensure that this underwater tunnel will be really useful, the government must also comprehensively revamp the existing transportation networks on Java and Sumatra islands to expedite journeys between these two islands.

It must also be borne in mind that the tunnel should not have only a railway line but also an ordinary road for the transportation of goods.

JANUAR Banten