Manado-Bitung Toll Road Construction Projected to Complete in April Next Year

President Jokowi takes a closer look at the model of Manado-Bitung toll road when inspecting the project at Air Madidi Interchange, Bitung, North Sulawesi, Friday (5/7) (Photo: Ministry of PUPR)

Construction of Manado-Bitung toll road is targeted for completion in April 2020 after a delay from its initial target at the end of this year, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

According to the President, the toll road is expected to ease access of goods and services to Bitung international port, which serves as an export and import gate for eastern Indonesia.

The toll road is also expected to boost tourism sector in North Sulawesi Province, especially in Lembeh Island, he added.

“We hope the toll road can boost tourism in Lembeh Island and industries (in the province), including fishing industry and industries located in Bitung Special Economic Zone (KEK). The toll road is also expected to boost economy in Bitung,” President Jokowi said while inspecting the toll road project site at Air Madidi Interchange in Bitung, North Sulawesi, Friday (5/7).

In the meantime, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono said that next year the Government would also build a one-kilometer bridge connecting Bitung to Lembeh Island with the estimated budget of Rp500 billion.

“The toll road will be connected to ports, Bitung and Tanjung Pulisan-Likupang SEZs, and Lembeh Island tourism area which can be accessed through Bitung port,” Basuki said.

For the record, the Manado-Bitung toll road is built with a Government-Business Entity Cooperation (PPP) scheme with a total investment value of Rp6.19 trillion.

The construction of the first toll road in North Sulawesi will cut travel time of Bitung-Manado from 90-120 minutes to 30 minutes. In addition, it is also expected to reduce the risks of traffic accidents and congestion on the existing arterial roads.

Manado-Bitung toll road comprises of two sections. Section 1, with Rp3 trillion budget allocation, is Manado-Sukur-Air Madidi ring road (14 km) constructed by Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing with Section 1A (7 km) construction progress already reaching 90.65% and is targeted to be completed by October this year and Section 1B (7 km) which is 100% completed and is targeted to operate in October this year.

Section 2 is Air Madidi – Bitung (25 km) – constructed by Manado-Bitung toll road business unit (BUJT) of state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Manado – is divided by Section 2A Air Madidi – Danowudu (11.5 km) with construction progress reaching 87.23% and Section 2B Danowudo – Bitung (13.5 km) with construction progress reaching 19.37%. The toll road has five interchanges, namely Manado Interchange, Air Madidi Interchange, Kaewitan Interchange, Danowudu Interchange, and Bitung Interchange. (HIM/JAY/ES)

Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Edited by: M. Ersan Pamungkas