Megawati inaugurates Suramadu bridge pillar

Megawati inaugurates Suramadu bridge pillar

The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Denpasar

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is seeking reelection this
year, inaugurated on Friday two different projects in East Java
and Bali, only three days ahead of the July 5 presidential
election.

In East Java, Megawati installed the second concrete pillar of
Suramadu bridge that connects the city of Surabaya and Madura
island, while in Denpasar, Bali, she inaugurated the Australian-
funded special care units in Sanglah Hospital.

The ground-breaking ceremony of Suramadu bridge, which will be
the longest bridge in Indonesia, began at 4:30 p.m. The ceremony
was held on the extension of the bridge on Madura island, in the
Laben Bangkalan district.

In her speech, Megawati said she hoped that the 5,438-meter
bridge could be completed by 2006. The President said the bridge
would boost the economy on Madura island, which has been largely
untouched by development, lagging behind other regions in
Indonesia.

In the ceremony, Megawati was accompanied by her husband
Taufik Kiemas, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti and Minister of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructure Soenarno.

Soenarno said that the construction of the bridge cost the
state US$150 million, most of which came from loans from the
People's Republic of China.

Megawati, who just completed her month-long campaign, did not
give a speech during the ceremony. She did, however, hold a
dialog with community leaders in Madura shortly afterwards.

Separately, activists in Madura claimed that the construction
of the Suramadu bridge would not enhance the economy in Madura
and regarded its timing as having political overtones.

Representatives from the Madura Intellectuals Communication
Forum opposed the project, saying that the construction project
did not have a clear concept. Besides that, they said that the
project would cause economic imbalance in Madura, as there was
still no clear parallel concept for local infrastructure on the
part from the provincial and central governments, said vice
chairman of the forum, HR Soelaiman. For example, there is little
effort from the government to improve the quality of human
resources in Madura where 70 percent of the population have only
completed elementary school.

Earlier in the morning, Megawati inaugurated the Intensive
Care Unit, the Intensive Coronary Care Unit and the Burn
Intensive Care Unit in Sanglah Hospital.

The three units cost the Australian government AUS$4.5
million, which was part of the Bali Memorial Aid Package
amounting to AUS$ 10.5 million. The aid was handed over by Chris
Gallus, a senior official at the Australian Parliament
secretariat.