Over 25% of West Java highways badly damaged

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

At least a quarter of the 2,300 kilometers of highways in West Java are in a serious state of disrepair and repair work has been hampered by the stalled disbursement of state funds.

The head of West Java Bina Marga road management office Zaenal Arifin told a hearing with the provincial legislative council's commission D overseeing forestry, road and building infrastructure that the figure was based on his office's data.

"Repair work will only start in July to sort out 80 percent of the roads that are in disrepair, because bureaucratic procedures have delayed the disbursement of the fund," he said on Wednesday.

He said the 575 kilometers of damaged highways spread across the province are mostly used as roads for vehicles carrying food and vegetable supplies to Jakarta, such as the Purwakarta to Sadang route.

Zaenal said his office will complete proposals for the repair work later this month, but will not be able to start the project immediately.

"We first have to offer the project to contractors under a tender system," he said, adding that the repair work will only begin at least 46 days after the winner is announced, and is expected to finish next August.

Zaenal said the damage partly stemmed from natural factors, such as floods and landslides following heavy rains. However, he admitted human error played the most destructive role, as trucks with excessive loads were frequently allowed to pass along the highways freely.

As an example, he said many large trucks loaded with 50 tons used the province's roads daily. Highways should accommodate vehicles with a maximum load of eight tons.

"We have received a report from Purwakarta Police claiming that at least 4,000 overloaded trucks pass along the Sadang to Purwakarta route every day," he said.

It is common in Indonesia for truck drivers to bribe police who stop their vehicles for exceeding official weight loads.

In a response to Zaenal's statement, a local councillor, speaking at the same hearing, blamed the damage on fraudulent developers who used poor quality construction materials for road repair projects.

"In order to increase their profits, they mix the road material with cheap stuff. As a result, the roads quickly fall apart," he said.

Zaenal added the provincial administration allocated only Rp 170 billion from the budget last year to repair damaged roads, even though more than Rp 1 trillion was needed for the projects.

The Rp 170 billion fund was only 15.7 percent of Rp 1.9 trillion collected from vehicle taxes.

He suggested that at least 30 percent of the tax, the largest source of revenue in West Java, be allocated for this year's road development projects.