Sumatra and Sulawesi will be the largest beneficiaries of new road projects next year as a ministry expects road development in the two provinces to kick off its five-year 19,500 kilometer road program.
Next year, up to 695 kilometers of national roads will be built in Sumatra and Sulawesi. These will be the first projects launched by the Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto in his second term as minister.
“These projects have been included in my 100-day program list, therefore they are top-priority,” Djoko told the members of the House of Representative’s Commission V on infrastructure and underdeveloped regions during a hearing on Monday.
The total 695 kilometers of new roads will comprise 355 kilometers in Sumatra and 340 kilometers in Sulawesi. “These are national roads which are under central government’s responsibility,” Djoko said.
The new roads in Sulawesi will complete the “Trans Sulawesi” project targeted to reach 1,000 kilometers in length by 2010.
The Trans Sulawesi will connect the island’s biggest city Makassar with Maros, Pare-Pare, and Manado. The government has disbursed Rp 1 trillion (US$106.5 million) from the 2009 state budget for this project.
In Sumatra, the project will complete the 2,700 kilometer “Trans Sumatra” route. This consists of a western network, linking Lampung, Padang, and Bengkulu, a center network linking Medan, Padang, Jambi, Palembang and Lampung, and an eastern network, connecting Banda Aceh, Medan, Pekanbaru, Jambi, Palembang, and Lampung.
“Some parts of these projects were still in difficulties due to land disputes. But we are optimistic the construction of these roads will be on time.” Djoko vowed.
The Sumatra and Sulawesi projects are part of the ministry’s target to build 19,500 kilometers of national roads by the end of 2014.
In Sumatra, the government targets to build a total of 4,100 kilometers of national roads while in Java, there will be 2,100 kilometers. Sulawesi will enjoy an additional 3,600 kilometers of new roads while the most-east-region Papua will gain an additional 2,000 kilometers of new roads. Finally a further 1,900 kilometers of new roads is already planned for other islands.
During his first tenure from 2004 to 2009, Djoko led the ministry in building a total of 6,850 kilometers of national roads.
Data from the ministry shows that, by early 2009, there was already 34,628 kilometers of national roads across the country, including 700 kilometers of toll roads, very close to Djoko’s target of providing 35,000 kilometers of national roads by the end of this year.
However, only 28 percent of national roads are recorded as being in good condition.
In addition to the road projects, Djoko is also aiming to build 685,000 basic housing units (RSS), including 180 towers of low-cost government-subsidized apartments (rusunami), and 650 twin-blocks of low-cost rented apartments (rusunawa).
“All of these housing projects are targeted to be finished by 2012 to provide homes for 836,000 families,” Djoko said.
Up to 200 twin-blocks of rusunawa would be built by the government, he said, “42 blocks in 2010, 70 blocks in 2011, and 88 in 2012.”
As many as 450 other twin-blocks are expected to be constructed by private investors or state housing developer PT Perumnas, Djoko added. (bbs)
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