Kalimantan governors okay infrastructure plan
Edy Petebang, The Jakarta Post, Pontianak
Four Kalimantan governors have agreed to begin the Trans- Kalimantan highway project as part of an integrated infrastructure development program that was officially endorsed at the end of their two-day meeting in Pontianak on Thursday.
Minister for the Acceleration of Eastern Indonesian Development Manuel Kaisiepo was a witness during the signing ceremony.
West Kalimantan was represented by governor Aspar Aswin, South Kalimantan by governor Syachriel Darham, while Central and East Kalimantan were represented by deputy governors Nahson Taway and Yurnalis Ngayoh respectively.
Another agreement that was endorsed by the governors is an island-wide infrastructure/social plan which will include, preparations for the construction of a railway network, the completion of an inter-province electricity program, human resource development, settling problems relating to borders with neighboring countries, handling of refugees and development of an integrated information system.
The ambitious highway project actually began some years ago in South Kalimantan. The project, however was halted due to a variety of complications, mostly financial.
The highway will consist of southern, central and northern routes, and according to construction plans, the first stage of the project will be the southern and central routes.
The southern highway in West Kalimantan will cover a distance of 633 kilometers with 16 bridges, the central highway in Central Kalimantan will be 837 kilometers long with 496 bridges, while the remaining routes will cover a distance of 864 kilometers with 459 bridges in South Kalimantan.
The central highway, in West Kalimantan, will cover 486 kilometers with 61 bridges, 727 kilometers with 486 bridges in Central Kalimantan, and another 393 kilometers in East Kalimantan.
The northern route, which will cover more than 1,080 kilometers, will go through West Kalimantan, starting from the Sambas regency and into the district of Bungan on the border of West and East Kalimantan.
"We have started with the 934 kilometer stretch of unsurfaced road with very few bridges in South Kalimantan," South Kalimantan governor Syachriel Darham said, adding that the project started some years ago.
He also said that the citizens of Kalimantan had been eagerly awaiting the completion of the highway for economic and communication reasons.
Minister Kaisiepo said that the governors must enact concrete and sustainable programs for integrated development based on realistic priorities.
"If the trans-Kalimantan highway is considered very important, then the governors, the people, the provincial legislatures and members of the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) who hail from Kalimantan must put the project as a top priority," Kaisiepo said.
In response to the railway network plan, director of the state-owned railway company (PT KAI) Mardio Wibowo, who also attended the meeting, said that the province of Kalimantan needed a total of 3,300 kilometers of railroad tracks.
"The total cost of the project will be at least Rp 56.1 trillion. And the construction project will take at least 30 years," he said, adding that his office had completed the feasibility study for the project long ago.