President Jokowi Officiates Two Trans-Sumatra Toll Road Segments

President Jokowi officiates Indrapura-Kisaran Toll Road Section 2 and Betung-Tempino-Jambi Toll Road Section 3 on Wednesday (10/16). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Vico)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Wednesday (10/16) officiated Indrapura-Kisaran Section 2 Toll Road and Betung-Tempino-Jambi Toll Road Section 3.

The President underscored that the completion of the two toll road segments signifies the Government’s commitment to accelerating the development of Trans-Sumatra infrastructure.

This development is crucial for enhancing regional connectivity and improving economic competitiveness of the area.

“We hope that toll roads, especially Trans-Sumatra, will significantly enhance the mobility of people, goods, and logistics distribution. This will allow each region to better compete with others on a global scale, especially given the intense international competition,” he said.

The President pointed out that toll road construction in the country involved multiple financing, including from the private sector, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and the State Budget.

“Many people said that toll roads are constructed by the private sector. The budget also comes from them. It is true that many toll roads were constructed by the private sector with investment system, but our SOEs and our State Budget also built many,” he said, adding that multiple financing sources are required, especially for projects with low internal rate of return (IRR), in which SOEs play a vital role in supporting the financing.

“If the toll roads’ IRR is low, we have no choice but to use the State Budget,” he remarked. (ECH/ABD) (DH/EP)