Sumatra, Java to be linked in 20 years
Sumatra, Java to be linked in 20 years
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon
State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga is planning to build
a massive bridge connecting Sumatra and Java within the next 20
years in a bid to take part in the ongoing development of toll
road networks in Asia, says an official.
Jasa Marga spokesman Satria Ganefanto said that the Sumatra
toll road would begin in Medan, North Sumatra and drivers would
be able to go all the way the East Java city of Banyuwangi facing
the tourist resort of Bali, virtually non-stop.
"The Sumatra-Java project will be connected by the ambitious
plan of a Sunda Straits Bridge, similar to America's Golden Gate
Bridge. We expect to finish the mega project in 20 years," said
Satria Ganefanto, referring to the 1.3-kilometer suspension
bridge in San Francisco. The nearest points in the Sunda Straits
are about 20 kilometers apart.
Satria added that the development of the Sumatra-Java toll
road was part of a grand plan for a Trans-Asia Highway connecting
Indonesia to Singapore and much of the rest of mainland Asia, all
the way up to South Korea.
"The plan has been discussed by toll road operators from those
countries, including PT Jasa Marga, in South Korea last year,"
Satria said.
Satria did not elaborate on when the development project would
begin. He said toll roads on the two islands will be part of the
project and the government was still developing a toll road
connecting Cikampek, near Jakarta, and Cirebon bordering Central
Java.
PT Jasa Marga, he said, needed the full support and commitment
from the government to implement the plan.
"Without government support, it will be difficult to carry out
the project because it will cost a huge amount of money," Satria
said.
He explained that Jasa Marga was likely to open a new tender
for the development of Cikampek-Cirebon toll road due to the slow
work of its three current contractors, which have yet to even
finish feasibility study thus far.
"We will give them until the end of the year to finish the
feasibility study. Otherwise, we will ask the Ministry of
Resettlement and Regional Facilities to review or cancel the
project and open a new bid," he told reporters.
Satria said that the government had prioritized the Cikampek-
Cirebon toll road construction since the project was re-opened
last year.
The project had actually begun in 1996, with three contractors
winning the bid to construct the 37-kilometer Sadang-Subang
section, the 52.5 kilometer Subang-Dawuan section and the 24.5
kilometer Dawuan-Palimanan section.
But, the project was postponed when the economic crisis hit
the country in 1997.
"As it has become the government's priority, the Cikampek-
Cirebon toll road must be finished soon," Satria said.