Prabowo Reveals Some Consider Bridge Construction Not Strategic, Prefer Building Grand Monuments
JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto has revealed that certain parties regard suspended bridge construction as not being a strategic project, preferring instead to build grand monuments and skyscrapers rather than bridges.
Prabowo made these remarks whilst inaugurating 218 Bailey bridges, armco bridges, and pioneering bridges throughout Indonesia via videoconference on Monday (9 March 2026).
“Perhaps there are people who view suspended bridges that might span several tens or hundreds of metres as something that is not strategic,” Prabowo said on Monday.
“There are parties that wish to build grand monuments, construct skyscrapers, and erect luxury buildings,” he added.
Prabowo emphasised that the government he leads instead considers bridges to be highly strategic projects because they address problems and prioritise the interests of the community.
“No, the government I lead takes pride in that we address the difficulties of our most humble people, our most distant people, our most remote people,” he said.
He even disclosed that he could sleep more peacefully after previously worrying about children in remote villages who had to cross fast-flowing rivers to attend school.
With these bridges, schoolchildren no longer need to sit in class with wet uniforms.
For context, the inaugurated bridges comprised 77 Bailey bridges, 59 armco bridges, and 82 pioneering bridges. These bridges include those constructed in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra following flash floods and landslides in late last year.
Prabowo previously stated that the inauguration of hundreds of bridges built in just a short span of approximately 2.5 months represents an extraordinary achievement.
Personnel were specifically assigned to construct the bridges.
President Prabowo established a number of task forces, including a Bridge Task Force for Disaster Impact Response in Sumatra, directly commanded by Chief of the Army General Staff (KSAD) General Maruli Simanjuntak.
“The Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force has worked hard, and especially this Bridge Task Force is inaugurating 218 bridges today. I express my gratitude on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as President of the Republic of Indonesia and also as an individual,” Maruli said.
“I have established this task force, I have assigned our Chief of the Army General Staff to lead directly. A four-star general is leading the construction of bridges, not only large bridges but also small ones,” Prabowo added.