Indonesia to build 2,700-km toll road in Sumatra

STATE-RUN construction company Hutama Karya this year expects to begin this year the development of a 2,700- kilometre toll road project linking Bakahuni Port in Sumatra's southern most tip with Banda Aceh in the island's northern most part as part of the company's toll road business expansion.

Corporate secretary Ary Widiyantoro said the company was still waiting for the government regulation on the official appointment to carry out the Trans Sumatra toll road project, which is estimated to cost about Rp 351 trillion (US$36.15 billion) to build.

"The regulation is being finalised right now. We expect to start on one out of five sections of the Trans Sumatra project before the end of this year. We are looking at the most prepared section to be developed so that we can speed up construction," Ary told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The sections will include Bakauheni-Terbanggi, Palembang-Indralaya, Pekanbaru-Kandis-Dumai, Medan-Kuala Namu and Medan-Banda Aceh.

"Based on our business plan, we expect to complete all sections at the end of 2025," he said.

He said that the firm had recently set up a toll road development division that would be headed by a senior vice president to better manage the new sector.

The Trans Sumatra toll road will connect to the Sunda Strait Bridge, which is slated to be built in the near future and would be part of the Asian Highway Network. The Sunda Strait bridge will connect Merak Port in Merak, Banten and the Bakahuni port in Lampung.

Both projects are aimed at supporting the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI), announced by the government in 2011.

Previously, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said the Trans-Sumatra toll road project would seek funds from various financial sources. Hutama Karya will also receive capital injection from the government to partly finance the project.

According to the Public Works Ministry's highway director general Djoko Murjanto, the most prepared section was the 22.4 kilometre road section linking North Sumatra's capital Medan with Kuala Namu, where a new airport will commence operations in August this year.

He said the land acquisition process along the section had reached almost 60 per cent and that the project was expected to be completed at the end 2015. "We are continuously monitoring the land acquisition process and are working closely with related stakeholders to accelerate the project," Djoko said. The Jakarta Post/ANN