Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inauguration of the Solo-Yogyakarta-YIA Kulonprogo Toll Road Section I Kartasura-Klaten, at the Banyudono Toll Gate, Boyolali Regency, Central Java Province, September 19, 2024

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good afternoon,

May prosperity be upon us all,

Distinguished Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Minister of State Secretary, Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region, Governor of Central Java, Chief of the Indonesian National Police, all Regents present here, Ladies and Gentlemen, and my dearest fellow country people.

Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), today, this afternoon, the 22.3-kilometer Solo-Yogyakarta-Kulonprogo Toll Road Section I Kartasura-Klaten has been completed and is ready to operate. The construction of this toll road has begun since 2021 and will be completed in 2024 with a budget of Rp5.6 trillion. This toll road will improve connectivity and accessibility from Solo, Central Java, to Yogyakarta Special Region, and will create time efficiency. Because if we recall the past, when I was still a university student, travelling Yogya-Solo by motorbike, as far as I can recall, could take 50 minutes. Now, to travel the same distance by a car, how many hours can it take? Three hours, three and a half hours, even four hours, six hours. That is the fact on the ground while in fact, we need competitiveness, speed, and punctuality undeniably.

This toll road will create time efficiency when travelling from Kartasura to Yogya, from Solo to Yogya, and maybe later, travelling from Solo to Yogya will only take about 30, 40, or 50 minutes. As this toll road has not completed yet, we estimate that it can take between 30 minutes or 40 minutes to travel from Solo to Yogya. So, this toll road will reduce the load of the existing national roads which are very busy and very crowded. And, we expect this toll road to serve as an economic lever in the regions, then a trigger for the growth of new economic centers around the toll road.

That concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. And by saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this afternoon I hereby inaugurate the Solo-Yogyakarta-Kulonprogo Toll Road Section I Kartasura-Klaten.

I thank you.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(TM/LW)