REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- One of the government's development agendas in Sumatra, as included in its master plan, is the construction of toll roads for accelerating the connecting of production centers and boosting the region's economic growth.
Sumatra urgently needs toll roads to provide alternatives for transportation of goods and people. The Trans Sumatra Highway, which stretches about 2,000 km from Aceh province in the western tip of Sumatra to Lampung province in the eastern section, could no longer handle the area's fast growing transportation.
Additionally, the Trans-Sumatra highway has deteriorated, as many sections are often damaged and need to be repaired every year, causing delays in the transporting of goods and passengers to Java, and vice versa.
Thus, the government has included a Trans Sumatra Toll Road project, apart from electricity and seaports development, in its MP3EI (Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development) projects in Sumatra.
Based on the plan, the Trans Sumatra Toll Road, spanning 2,000 km long from Bakauheni in the eastern part of Sumatra to Aceh in the western tip of the island, will be built at a cost of US$31.25 billion.
Scheduled for completion by 2025, the project is expected to help improve the flow of goods and transportation of the public, as well as help generate economic development on the islands of Java and Sumatra.
Executive Director for Road Construction of the Ministry of Public Works Subagyo said not long ago that the construction of the US$31.25 billion Trans Sumatra Toll Road project will extend between the eastern and western tips of Sumatra, spanning about 2,000 km.
The toll road will not use existing roads and will not cause the relocation of houses. "The cost will be cheaper, as it would not use land belonging to state plantations, but unused land," Subagyo said.
The people of Sumatra want the road to be built quickly, and their hopes have been expressed by the All Sumatran Provincial Governors Forum.
North Sumatra Governor Gatot Puja Nugroho, who chairs the Sumatran Governors Forum, said on Thursday that the construction of the Trans Sumatran toll road project must be carried out soon to help smooth transportation and accelerate economic growth in Sumatra.
Therefore, the forum, in a written statement, said the Sumatran provincial administrations urged the central government to speed up the development of the Trans Sumatran toll roads.
"Among the various agreements that have been reached, there are some that are the responsibility of the central government. It has to carry out the construction soon and towards that end it also has to appoint a state firm to execute the project," Nugroho added.
The Head of South Sumatra's Regional Development Agency (Bapeda), Yohannes Hasiholan Toruan, said meanwhile that the Sumatran toll road project must be developed soon.
"If the central government continues to delay in the development of the Trans Sumatra toll roads, the provincial governments in all the Sumatran provinces can step in, provided the central government grants us the permission to do so. Therefore, the central government must be serious in developing the toll road projects soon," he said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairman of the North Sumatra Legislative Assembly (DPRD), Kamaludin, pointed out that the people of North Sumatra felt that their developmental interests were given second priority, which was also reflected in the gap between development in Sumatra and Java.
"Java's development has been saturated and its population has continued to increase. If Java is still given developmental priority, then people living outside Java will continue to go there, which would create more problems on the island," he said.
Yohannes and Kamaludin hoped that the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would drive the Tran Sumatra Toll Road Project is approved by the end of December, 2013. Then, the groundbreaking ceremony for its construction could be held during the beginning of 2014.
Yohannes recalled that the project should be given to a state-owned company, which already has experience in building a toll road and building other road infrastructures.
According to North Sumatra Governor Nugroho, his forum also urged the central government to issue a presidential regulation (Perpres) and assign a state company (BUMN) to manage the toll road projects.
Also, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo expressed his hope early this year that state-owned toll road firm PT Hutama Karya would take the initiative. "We fully support the construction of toll roads," he said.
Agus stated that there were several alternatives for PT Hutama Karya --a state company set up to implement infrastructure projects-- to finance the toll road projects. "The alternatives include the options of offering state capital investment, or issuing bonds, either by the government or by PT Hutama Karya, itself," he pointed out.
Therefore, he called for a feasibility study. "We will support it all, but it would be better if PT Hutama Karya could conduct a feasibility study. That way we could coordinate better with the government and also with the Toll Road Regulator Agency (BPJI) on the issue."
After all, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration has declared, and is implementing, its MP3EI programs, which included the Trans Sumatra Toll Road project.
Kamaludin said the MP3EI programs in Sumatra included the development of power plants, seaports and told road projects.
He said if the Trans Sumatra Toll Road project is realized, it would provide positive contributions to the people of Sumatra, solving the problem of chronic traffic jams, such as in the section between Medan and Binjai.
"If the toll roads, which among others connect Medan and Binjai, it will accelerate economic growth, minimize traffic accidents and free the North Sumatran people from the perils of traffic woes," noted Kamaludin.
Besides, it will also develop connectivity among economic centers and centers of production so that the economic growth of the people of Sumatra will increasingly be boosted.
"We hope the Trans Sumatra Toll Road will serve as a legacy for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which will always be remembered by the people of Sumatra," said Kamaludin. (Andi Abdussalam)
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