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Sat, 19 Oct 2002

JP/Megawati relaunches US$3.4b toll road projects

Megawati relaunches US$3.4b toll road projects

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri relaunched on Friday toll road projects worth some Rp 31.6 trillion (about US$3.4 billion), delayed for years due to the economic crisis.

The 21 projects, with a total length of 576 kilometers, are being and will be developed in Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sumatra, Riau and North Sumatra. All are expected to be completed by 2010.

All the projects were suspended by the government in 1997 as part of retrenchment measures to cope with the economic crisis.

Minister for Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno said priority would be given to 12 projects, including the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR), Cikampek-Padalarang and Waru- Tanjung Perak project. These projects are expected to be completed by 2004.

The JORR project is expected to ease traffic in Jakarta.

Soenarno said the projects would be developed by state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga or other interested companies. Jasa Marga will raise funds by issuing bonds.

Jasa Marga president director Syarifuddin Alambai, however, expressed his pessimism that the projects would be completed on schedule as his company was still waiting for investors to participate in them.

"Financially, we are not yet ready. Therefore, we are still inviting investors to take part in some of the 21 toll road projects," Syarifuddin said.

Megawati sounded a siren to inaugurate the projects at a ceremony held near the Indonesian Miniature Park (TMII) in East Jakarta. She was accompanied by her husband Taufik Kiemas, Soenarno and Syarifuddin.

The minister said that construction of the projects would create many jobs and would have a chain impact on many sectors of the economy. They would then be expected to speed up the country's economic recovery.

"The projects are expected to boost other sectors, including housing, construction and the manufacturing of construction materials. This will certainly create significant numbers of new jobs," he added.