RI-Malaysia bridge to cost $2.2b

JAKARTA (JP): The construction of a 95-kilometer bridge, the longest in the world, over the Strait of Malacca would cost Rp 6 trillion (US$2.2 billion), a Malaysian official said.

"Malacca state has proposed construction at Kuala Linggi and Merlimau in Malacca directed towards Rupat Island (Riau)," chief of Malacca State, Datuk Abu Zahar, was quoted by Antara as saying in Malacca yesterday.

Zahar and Governor Soeripto of Indonesia's Riau province both attended a conference yesterday on the planned construction of the bridge.

Both said the bridge would solidify the already close relations between the two countries.

Business consortiums from both countries have agreed to team up to build a bridge which would connect Malacca and Riau.

The bridge would extend 42 kilometers across the Strait of Malacca, then another 47 kilometers across Rupat Island, before another six-kilometer extension to mainland Riau.

The Indonesian consortium, PT Malindo Transmadu, is headed by Siti Hediati Heriyadi Prabowo, second daughter of President Soeharto.

Soeharto gave last week his approval for the project, which according to Hediati just completed a five-year feasibility study.

She did not reveal when construction would begin.

Governor Soeripto said yesterday that the bridge would strengthen economic ties, noting the increasing interest of Malaysian companies to invest in Riau's agricultural and real estate sectors. (09)