Serpong-P. Aren Barat new toll road opens
Serpong-P. Aren Barat new toll road opens
JAKARTA (JP): The Serpong-Pondok Aren Barat toll road, the first part of the planned toll road between Jakarta and Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) housing complex, is scheduled to start operation on Tuesday, an official said.
The director general of road construction of the Ministry of Public Works, Tjuk Sudarsono, said on Friday that initially the 6.9-kilometer toll road section was intended only for vehicles in the group I classification, namely sedans, jeeps, small trucks and minibuses.
"This decision was taken as the road is not yet able to serve heavier vehicles," Sudarsono was quoted by Antara as saying.
He explained that in line with Presidential Decree No. 11/1999 dated Jan. 27, the toll for the new road for group I vehicles was set at Rp 2,000.
The toll has been set at Rp 3,500 for vehicles in the group IIA classification for bigger trucks or buses, and Rp 4,500 for larger trucks and buses.
"Tolls for other groups of vehicles will be effective only after all facilities to support them on the toll road is completed," he said.
When asked whether the tolls were not too expensive, he said that they had been calculated in line with the existing formula and had been discussed with members of the House of Representatives.
Commenting on the construction of the second part of the project, stretching 5.9 kilometers between Pondok Aren and Ulujami in South Jakarta, Sudarsono said it was initially planned that it would be built by state-owned highway corporation PT Jasa Marga.
But due to a lack of funds, PT Jasa Marga would only build about 2.5 kilometers of it between Pondok Aren and Viaduct Bintaro.
The rest -- between Viaduct Bintaro and Ulujami -- would be offered to private companies, he said.
PT Jasa Marga's spokesman David Wijayanto explained that the Serpong-Pondok Aren Barat toll road section was built at a cost of Rp 249 billion by a consortium, the members of which include PT Bumi Serpong Damai, the developer of the BSD housing complex, and PT Jaya Real Property, among others.
In its cooperation with PT Jasa Marga, the project was built on a build-operate-and-transfer scheme with a concession period of 27 years.
The operation of the toll road is expected to further develop the BSD area, where there is an increasing number of foreign investments. (hhr)