Toll road projects to be prioritized next year
Toll road projects to be prioritized next year
JAKARTA (JP): The government would prioritize certain toll
road projects and other infrastructure projects to be continued
next fiscal year beginning in April, Minister of Public Works
Radinal Moochtar said yesterday.
Radinal said the projects were the Jakarta outer-ring roads,
the East Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu toll road, the triple-
tiered toll road, the Pondok Aren-Ulujami toll road, the Aloha
Waru-Tanjung Perak road, the Simpang Susun Waru-Tanjung Perak
road and the Ujungpandang road.
He said the government would also continue development of the
Jayapura-Wamena road and improve the bridges connecting Merauke,
Tanah Merah and Ubrub, all in Irian Jaya.
"We need to prioritize these projects so that we can reach the
target of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan," Radinal told the
House of Representatives Commission IV for public works
yesterday.
The development plan, which will end in 1999, targets to
improve roads and bridges and develop 16,000 kilometers of main
non-toll roads and 50,000 km of secondary roads.
In September, the government postponed and put under review
some US$37 billion in infrastructure projects -- many of which
were toll road projects -- financed with foreign loans to cope
with the rupiah's sharp depreciation against the U.S. dollar.
But some of the projects, including four toll road projects,
were allowed to continue by a presidential decree Nov. 1.
The Semarang Section C, Ujungpandang and Pondok Aren-Serpong
toll road projects were changed from reviewed to continued
status, while the Aloha Waru-Tanjung Perak toll road was taken
off the postponement list and will be continued as well.
At the hearing, Radinal also explained that the currency
crisis had also lowered the profitability of some state-owned
firms under the Ministry of Public Works.
Radinal predicted the government would receive less revenue
than what was targeted under the current development plan. He did
not mention the amount.
However, he said, state-owned toll road developer and operator
PT Jasa Marga and public housing company Perum Perumnas would
likely not face any problems meeting their five-year targets.
"Jasa Marga is working on finishing the development of a 310-
km toll road, and hopefully Perumnas will reach its target of
250,000 low-cost homes," he said.
Radinal said the government would also continue its project to
convert one million hectares of peat fields into rice paddies,
and would also develop new irrigation systems. (das)