Gov’t Set to Operate Kayu Agung-Jakabaring Toll Road Next Month

President Jokowi tries Terbanggi Besar – Pematang Panggang – Kayu Agung Trans-Sumatra Toll Road in Mesuji Regency, Lampung on Friday (11/15). (Photo by: Oji/PR)

Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing has expressed commitment to complete the construction of Trans Sumatra Toll Road, one of which is Kayu Agung – Palembang – Betung Toll Road section 1 Kayu Agung-Jakabaring spanning 33.5 km long, which is expected to be operational next month.

“Data from the Ministry’s Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT) shows that construction progress of the toll road has reached 97 percent,” Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono was quoted as saying on the website www.pu.go.id on Tuesday (19/11).

As of November 2019, of the total length of 2,974 km of toll road construction from Lampung province to Aceh province which is expected to be completed in 2024, the Trans Sumatra Toll Road that have been in operation is 467.6 km long.

These operational sections are Bakauheni – Terbanggi Besar spanning 141 km, Terbanggi Besar – Pematang Panggang – Kayu Agung of 189 km long, Palembang – Indralaya of 22 km, Medan – Binjai 10.46 km, Medan – Kualanamu – Tebing Tinggi 62.2 km and Belawan – Medan – Tanjung Morawa 43 km.

With the operation of Kayu Agung – Palembang – Betung Toll Road section 1 Kayu Agung-Jaka Baring, the total length of Trans Sumatra toll road until the end of 2019 to be operational will reach 501.16 km.

In the meantime, the Government has also set the target of operating five sections of Trans Sumatra Toll Road spanning 311.26 km long in 2020. They are Sigli – Banda Aceh Toll Road (74 km), Medan – Binjai Section 1 from Helvetia Interchange to Tanjung Mulia Interchange (6.27 km), Pekanbaru – Dumai (131.4 km), Padang – Pekanbaru Section I Padang – Sicincin (30.4 km), and Kayuagung – Palembang – Betung Section 2 and 3 Jakabaring-Betung (69.19 km).

“The construction of Banda Aceh – Sigli toll road is one of the Trans Sumatra Toll Road sections which constitute a national strategic project and is expected to cut travel time from Banda Aceh to Sigli from previously 2-3 hours to 1 hour,” said Basuki.

The Banda Aceh – Sigli toll road will be divided into six sections with a total investment of Rp12.35 trillion. The construction progress is currently at 20 percent and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, Basuki added.

Meanwhile, Medan – Binjai Toll Road Section 1 (Helvetia Interchange – Tanjung Mulia Interchange) is part of the Medan – Binjai Toll Road Section 2-3 Helvetia – Binjai section with a length of 10.46 km which has been in operation since October 2017, with the construction progress of 91.98 percent.

The Medan-Binjai Toll Road concession is part of the Government’s secondment to state-owned construction company PT Hutama Karya with an investment value of Rp2.5 trillion, Rp1.9 trillion of which is for construction costs.

The construction of toll road connecting Medan City and Binjai City aims to increase connectivity, facilitate logistics distribution of goods and services, and strengthen the structure of the Medan – Binjai – Deli Serdang – Karo metropolitan area.

Furthermore, Pekanbaru – Dumai toll road which is divided into six sections with an overall investment value of Rp16.211 trillion is also targeted to be completed in 2020. The six sections include section I Pekanbaru – Minas (9.5 km), section II Minas -Petapahan/South Kandis (24 km), section III Petapahan – North Kandis (17 km), section IV Kandis – South Duri (26 km), section V South – North Duri (28 km), and section VI North Duri – Dumai (25 km).

To date, construction progress of the six sections has reached 74.2 percent.

“This toll road will integrate regional connectivity, facilitate the flow of goods distribution from industrial centers to various regions in Sumatra. More importantly, Pekanbaru – Dumai toll road can increase access to Pekanbaru as a center of government and the economy in Riau Province and Dumai as port cities, with the oil and agribusiness industries,” Basuki said.

The next toll road that is expected to be operational in 2020 is Padang – Pekanbaru Section I Padang – Sicincin (30.4 km) with construction progress currently at 10.03 percent. This segment is part of Padang – Pekanbaru Toll Road spanning 254.8 km long which requires an investment of Rp80.41 trillion with a completion target of five years (2018-2023).

The high investment costs are due to long distances and five tunnels with a total length of 8.95 km that penetrates the Bukit Barisan mountain will also be built. PT Hutama Karya is currently conducting contractor procurement for the Pekanbaru – Bangkinang segment (35 km).

The last section on the Trans Sumatra Toll Road which is expected to be operational in 2020 is Agung – Palembang – Betung Toll Road section 2 Jakabaring – Musilindas (24.9 km) and Section 3 Musilindas – Betung (44.29 km) with the construction progress reaching 49.89 percent and 5.85 percent respectively. (Ministry of Public Work and Public Housing PR/ES)

Translated by: Muhardi

Edited by: M. Ersan Pamungkas