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.