L

ampung Legislative Council members have urged Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P. to disburse
Rp 400 billion (US$44,4 million) from the Rp 2.3 trillion provincial budget to repair damaged roads and bridges. Poor roads have been blamed for disrupting residents’ activities and lowering investor interest in the province.

The administration urgently needed to repair its damaged roads because further neglect would negatively impact the provincial economy, Lampung legislative councilor Khamamik said.

“In addition to the national and provincial roads, regency roads are also in disrepair. Consequently, farmers face difficulties transporting produce,” he said.

The amount of funds available for the road work would be based on the populations in seven constituencies, Khamamik said, adding that the funds would be divided in amounts ranging from Rp 10.5 billion to Rp 84 billion.

Around 80 percent of roads in Lampung were damaged because of “overloading,” Berlian Tihang from the Lampung office of the Directorate General of Highways said, adding that many of the trucks travelling through the province carried loads in excess of their authorized capacities.

“The level of road usage in Lampung, and the Trans-Sumatra highway in particular, exceeds the level of road use in Java. The condition of roads in Lampung should be the same as that in Java,” said Berlian.

The Lampung 2009 and 2010 budgets made allocations for road repairs but were only sufficient to restore 20 percent of a total of 239 kilometers of damaged roads. This accounts for around 80 percent of Lampung’s total 299 kilometers of road, Berlian said.

“Most of the trucks plying the roads carry loads of up to 20 tons, which damages the roads,” he said.

Almost all major companies in Sumatra rely heavily on the Trans-Sumatra highway, and the capacity of roads in Lampung is larger compared to other provinces in Sumatra,” he added.

Besides trucks carrying excessive loads, road conditions are also the result of sub-standard maintenance.

“The quality of road work is not in accordance with standard general road maintenance because of limited funds,” he said.

The badly damaged roads often cause traffic accidents, especially along the 90-kilometer Bakauheni-Bandarlampung highway, the east coast Sumatra highway stretch in Tulangbawang and the Trans-Sumatra highway stretch in Way Kanan regency.

The three road sections are part of the national road network built by the central government.

The road damage in Lampung has been attributed to inferior construction quality and overloaded trucks using the highways, Anticorruption Committee coordinator Ahmad Yulden Erwin said, adding that the situation was made worse by widespread illegal levies imposed along the Trans-Sumatra highway.

“The illegal levies are a common practice. Trucks exceeding their capacities are allowed to operate provided they give money to officers. Everyday, especially at night, the highway is crowded with huge trucks. That is one of the reasons why the roads are damaged so quickly,” Erwin said.

Each year the Lampung provincial administration sets aside Rp 200 billion for road work, and that does not include funds from the central government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the World Bank, Erwin added.

“But because of the inferior quality of road repair caused by corruption, the roads are quickly damaged. The east coast Sumatra highway, inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono only two years ago, is now badly damaged. It must be repaired by using central government funds because it is part of the national road network,” he said.

“We found evidence that the company which won the tender had to deposit up to 30 percent of project funds with government officials before work began. The company eventually approached the project with reluctance,” Erwin said, adding that the situation with Lampung’s roads was like a vicious cycle without hope for resolution.

“The roads become damaged quickly because of corruption, and the common people suffer the consequences. Farmers face trouble transporting their produce to the market. The road damage in Lampung makes it difficult to improve the province’s position as the second poorest province in Sumatra,” said Erwin.