Merak – Banyuwangi Toll Road to be Connected in 2019

President Jokowi accompanied by a number of officials when inaugurating the Gempol – Pasuruan toll road, at Pasuruan Toll Gate, East Java, Friday (22/6) afternoon. (Photo by: Oji /Public Relations Division)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that the Gempol – Pasuruan (Gempas) toll road, which stretches for 20.5 kilometers spanning from Merak in Banten to Pasuruan in East Java, in general is passable though the construction process is still underway.

“We hope that by the end of this year, the Merak-Pasuruan toll road will be completed, then proceed to Banyuwangi which is expected to be completed by 2019,” the President told reporters after inaugurating the Gempol-Pasuruan toll road at Pasuruan Toll Gate, East Java, (22/6).

If the Merak toll road to Banyuwangi is fully connected, according to the President, there will be a new Daendels avenue. “If the Daendels road spans from Anyer to Panarukan, now it is from Banyuwangi to Merak,” the President said.

When it comes to the toll tariff, the President said that the investment is made by investors either by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or by private companies. The President asserted that people should know this toll road is carried out by both SOEs and private investors.

Therefore, the President went on to explain, the imposition of toll road tariffs should be discussed with investors because the Government does not want investors to be disadvantaged.

“We want investors to benefit but we also want people to benefit. This means with the speed of goods mobility, logistics and goods distribution, we expect it will lower logistics costs as the distribution is faster,” the President explained.

The President also reminded all that the construction of toll road infrastructure must be integrated with economic growth points, be it with an industrial estate, seaports, or tourist area. Thus, the toll roads built are really useful for business world, tourism, industrial estates, and seaport area.

“Later on it can be connected. The road is already there. So, if there is an Industrial Estate within 20 kilometers from here, later it can be connected to the toll road or non-toll road. For example, we will integrate the Patimban Port to be built later with Trans-Java toll road,” the President said adding that it needs approximately 40 kilometers to the nearest toll road to the Patimban Port area in Subang, West Java. (RAH/OJI/ES) (MUR/MMB/YM/Naster).