House idle on E. Kalimantan toll road proposal

The House of Representatives has yet to announce its stance on a proposal to build a toll road connecting Balikpapan and Samarinda in East Kalimantan, an official says.

“It's 50-50,” lawmaker Hetifah Sjaifudin of the House Commission on education and tourism said Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

The East Kalimantan administration recently issued a spatial plan (RTRW) detailing aspects of the proposed toll road.

However, the plan triggered controversy because the road would destroy two conservation forests including the Wein River and Soeharto Forest.

Proponents of the road say it would boost to their economic activities.