Toll Road Association Pushes for Private Sector Involvement to Boost Quality and Service
The Indonesian Toll Road Association (ATI) held a focus group discussion (FGD) themed ‘Aligning the Toll Road Infrastructure Ecosystem for Sustainable Indonesian Development’ on Wednesday, 12 August 2026. The forum addressed strategic issues in toll road management and opened a constructive, strategic, and solution-oriented dialogue between cross-sector stakeholders to align regulatory policies, maintain a feasible investment climate, and promote a more sustainable financing model by expanding the role of private investment and improving optimal service quality for the public.
Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo stressed the importance of collaboration among stakeholders in building sustainable toll road infrastructure. ‘We cannot walk alone. The government, toll road business entities, the business world, associations, academics, and all stakeholders must move in the same direction,’ he said. He noted that the FGD was a space to unite steps, not just to align views. ‘Because what we are connecting is not just roads, but also production with markets, investment with jobs, and growth with prosperity,’ Dody added.
The discussion covered various topics, including bankable and sustainable toll road investment, business certainty, consistency in Toll Road Concession Agreements (PPJT), tariff adjustment mechanisms, the application of fair risk-sharing principles, and the management of various business changes and dynamics. These efforts aim to maintain the trust of investors and financial institutions. Issues such as toll road integration, the utilisation of toll road right-of-way, rest and service areas, and the implementation of multi-lane free flow (MLFF) were also discussed collaboratively, considering network conditions, service needs, financing structures, and investment sustainability.
Former Minister of National Development Planning and Minister of Finance Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro stated that toll road development has broader economic benefits beyond merely providing transport infrastructure. Amid significant development needs and fiscal space that must be managed optimally, private sector involvement is becoming increasingly important. ‘Therefore, we need to build a financing model and business ecosystem that can attract long-term investment while ensuring the benefits of toll road development are felt by the wider community and economy,’ said Bambang, who currently serves as Dean & CEO of the ADB Institute.
Former Minister of Finance M. Chatib Basri responded that with the state budget (APBN) currently under severe constraints, private sector participation in infrastructure development and financing will be crucial. ‘It is very likely that our state budget has no room, not only to finance infrastructure but also to provide fiscal incentives for business actors,’ he said. To attract private interest and participation, he suggested deregulation, easing of licensing, and ensuring that the government and relevant authorities fulfil commitments that have been agreed upon and are binding in signed contracts with concession holders. ‘To attract foreign investors who have the freedom to choose where to place their capital, we must certainly be able to offer a more attractive proposition than other countries,’ he added.
Muhammad Halley Yudhistira, Head of Transport, Real Estate, and Urban Studies at the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, said that the development of the toll road network provides significant economic benefits, which increase proportionally with the scale of the network built. ‘However, the current pace of realisation is still far below the target. Because the capital requirements exceed the capacity of public financing, accelerating development depends on the role of the private sector,’ he said. He therefore urged the creation of a healthy toll road ecosystem to optimise the private sector’s role sustainably. The current length of operating toll roads exceeds 3,115 km, with an accumulated investment value surpassing Rp 668 trillion, projected to approach Rp 1,000 trillion.
The toll road industry plays a vital role as the backbone of national connectivity and economic growth. Consequently, the development of the industry must be accompanied by improvements in service quality and safety for the public. ATI Chairman Rivan A. Purwantono explained that the toll road industry has now transformed from merely a provider of physical infrastructure into a part of the national transport and development ecosystem, playing a role in public mobility, logistics distribution, economic growth, and regional development. Therefore, improving service quality and user safety must go hand in hand with the sustainability of the investment climate through the alignment of joint policy directions.
‘Our orientation at ATI is to realise a toll road industry that continuously improves the quality of public services and makes a real contribution to economic growth, supported by a healthy investment climate and effective governance,’ he said. He added that with government support and good collaboration, the aim is to build a toll road ecosystem that creates sustainable value for road users, the state, and industry players. ‘This forum is an initial step that we need to follow up concretely, whether through the formation of working groups or the regular holding of FGDs. The various valuable perspectives and inputs today are important capital to align our steps and strengthen a sustainable national toll road ecosystem.’