Main span of Suramadu Bridge connected

Spanning the distance: The construction of Suramadu bridge, which connects Surabaya in mainland East Java and Madura Island, as seen from Kenjeran, Surabaya, when main span the bridge was connected successfully at midnight local time on Tuesday. Antara/Eric Ireng

The main span of Suramadu Bridge linking Surabaya in East Java mainland and Madura Island, was connected successfully at midnight local time on Tuesday, tempointeraktif.com has reported.

During a ceremony held at the bridge construction, Hermanto Dardak,director general of Bina Marga -- a division of the Public Works Ministry –  and Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue pressed the button to start the closing process of the main span.

"The bridge is one of the most significant cooperative projects between China and Indonesia. With the closing process completion and the bridge in operation, the bridge can provide smooth traffic for both Surabaya and Madura residents and make its own contributions to the local economic and social development," said the Chinese Ambassador.

The construction of the bridge is expected to be completed and opened to the public in June. The total length of the bridge will be 5,438 meters. When completed it will be the longest bridge in Indonesia and even in Southeast Asia.

The construction contract for the building of the bridge was signed on Sept. 24, 2004 between China and Indonesia and the construction work began in October 2005.

"With the great efforts made by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, the main contractor, I'm sure that the bridge can be completed on time," Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said earlier. (dre)