New Cipularang toll road closed

New Cipularang toll road closed

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The new Cikampek-Purwakarta-Padalarang (Cipularang) toll road was
closed on Sunday, shortly after being used by President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to attend the commemoration of the Asian-
African Conference jubilee celebrations in Bandung.

Jasa Marga official Singgih S. said the road was closed
because the 41.3-km toll road did not yet have complete markings
and signs.

"We're reanalyzing all standard facilities that the toll road
should have. The road lights are maybe good enough, (we only
need) some signs and markings," he told The Jakarta Post in
Bandung on Monday.

With the new toll road, the trip from Bandung-Jakarta, which
is about 160 kilometers, can be made in up to three and a-half
hours, down from the normal time of around five hours.

Under the contract, the toll road, which cost Rp 1.6 trillion
(US$168.4 million) to build and was timed to be complete with the
conference's anniversary celebration, should have finished on
April 7.

The road, which comprises of nine sections built by nine
contractors, stretches from Sadang, Purwakarta to Cipada-
Cikamuning and is connected to the Jakarta-Cikampek and
Padalarang-Cileunyi toll roads.

Singgih said the company was waiting for the central
government's go-ahead before it opened the route.

"We have not received the permits for our toll charges yet. We
propose Rp 355 per kilometer or Rp 29,000 total for the Jakarta-
Bandung route," he said.

Meanwhile, Bandung Governor Danny Setiawan and Mayor Dada
Rosada organized a gala on Monday to celebrate the city's success
in hosting the summit's golden jubilee.

In a ceremony organized at the Bandung City Hall and attended
by hundreds of committee members, the governor conveyed the
President's message, thanking Bandung residents as well as
apologizing to them if the event had disrupted their activities.

Many residents were trapped in traffic jams along main Bandung
thoroughfares during the weekend summit, which centered around
Gedung Merdeka. Others were stranded in the Padalarang and
Kiaracondong train stations because rail traffic was stopped for
three hours to ensure the safety of attending heads of state.

"Personally, I'm touched and proud that the event went so
smoothly," Danny said.

A temporary evaluation showed the event, which had cost the
Bandung provincial and mayoralty administrations at least Rp 80
million, was a success.

He did not explain how this success was measured.