Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia during the Inauguration of the Balikpapan-Samboja Section of the Balikpapan-Samarinda Toll Road, 24 August 2021, at the Manggar Toll Gate, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good afternoon,

Peace and prosperity be upon us.

Honorable Minister of Defense and Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR),

Honorable Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) and all of the ranks,

Honorable Governor of East Kalimantan and all of the ranks,

Honorable President Director of state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga as well as work partners of Ministry of PUPR.

This afternoon, thank God, all 97.3 kilometers of the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road have been completed.

This is also a historic moment because the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road is the first toll road on the Island of Kalimantan. This is an achievement that we should be grateful for because we want infrastructure development to not only be concentrated in the Islands of Java or Sumatra but also be evenly distributed to other islands.

We hope that through this toll road, new points of economic growth will emerge. And also, it is expected to improve our logistics network to become better, more efficient and faster. This is to improve our logistics network, to improve our competitiveness especially on commodities produced in East Kalimantan province. Through smoother access, it can reduce logistics costs. And, of course, export products from East Kalimantan Province will have high competitiveness, making the economy in East Kalimantan Province more efficient and competitive.

This concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. And by saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this afternoon I inaugurate Section I and Section V of the Balikpapan-Samarinda Toll Road.

I thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. (FI/MMB)