RI-Malaysia bridge to cost $2.2b

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)