Tangerang to build new toll road and port
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tigaraksa
In its attempt to attract foreign investors, Tangerang regency has planned to build a new toll road from Serpong to Teluk Naga near the Soekarno Hatta airport, a container complex in Cikupa, and a seaport in Tanjung Pasir, Teluk Naga district.
"The construction of the new infrastructure will further boost investments, both foreign and local, to our regency," Tangerang Regent Djunara told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
He said that they do not know yet through which areas the 53 kilometer toll road would pass, but it would certainly link Pamulang and Serpong areas in the south and the coastal area of Teluk Naga in the north.
According to Djunara, they will probably also develop a 70- kilometer toll road from Serpong to Teluk Naga through Tigaraksa--the capital city of Tangerang regency, and Pasar Kamis. But he said the one from Serpong to Teluk Naga through Tangerang town will be prioritized.
According to him, the new toll road is constructed to support the development of a new seaport in Teluk Naga.
Djunara said his administration also planned earlier to build a 50-hectare container terminal in Balaraja district following complaints filed by industries in the area about the ineffectiveness they had encountered in exporting their products through Tanjung Priok seaport.
"It takes up to eight hours for container trucks carrying industrial goods from Tangerang to Tanjung Priok seaport. It was also time-consuming for businessmen to arrange permits and export documents from Tangerang to Tanjung Priok port," he said.
He added that had prompted the administration to construct a container complex. And after a survey was done, Cikupa district was finally selected as the most strategic location of the 80- hectare terminal because it was near to the Jakarta-Merak toll road.
Djunara said that to avoid mere reliance on Tanjung Priok seaport, they had planned to develop the seaport in Tanjung Pasir, which has a sea depth of 16 meters as compared to only eight meters in Tanjung Priok.
"With the existences of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, warehouse center in Kosambi, Tanjung Pasir seaport, tourist sites, office buildings and housing estates and industries, we are sure that the northern part of the regency would potentially turn into a new town that could be easily accessed from Tangerang town and Serang," he said.
However, the regency development planning body chief Suryana said that he could not yet give the details of the infrastructure development, saying that they were still conducting a feasibility study.
"I hope it will be completed in November. But we have appointed PT Trasindo Karya Invesma and PT Telaga King as the investors for the development," he said.