TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi told to begin construction of Sunda Strait Bridge in 2015
Builders in Lebak regency, Banten, are urging Jakarta governor and president-elect Joko âJokowiâ Widodo to realize the long-delayed Sunda Strait Bridge construction project to spur economic growth in Java and Sumatra
Change Size
B
uilders in Lebak regency, Banten, are urging Jakarta governor and president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to realize the long-delayed Sunda Strait Bridge construction project to spur economic growth in Java and Sumatra.
'We believe that Banten and Lampung's economies will grow and many investors will come if the development plan for the Sunda Strait Bridge can be realized,' Lebak-chapter Indonesian Builders Association (Gapensi) secretary, Enjat Sudrajat, said as quoted by kompas.com, on Saturday.
He said the Sunda Strait Bridge would serve as a very strategic connection, joining Java and Sumatra islands, and could have a positive impact on economic growth for the people of Banten. Citing an example, he said Banten entrepreneurs could be involved in the goods and service procurement process for the construction project.
Enjat said there was hope that the Jokowi administration would start building the Sunda Strait Bridge in 2015; the current government had promised to start construction in 2014 but progress remained unclear to date.
The Sunda Strait Bridge is part of the government's Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economy (MP3EI).
Once the bridge was complete, Enjat said, investors in the tourism, housing, mining and agriculture sectors would start coming to Lebak, creating more job opportunities in the regency.
He further said the bridge was also needed to address serious traffic congestion on roads leading to Merak port in Serang, Banten, which he said was no longer suitable for use.
In February, the government decided that the construction of the Sunda Strait Bridge would be left to the next administration. It was also decided that no state money would be spent on the mega-project. The government agreed that state-owned construction companies would take part in the project, along with PT Graha Banten Lampung Sejahtera, a consortium led by tycoon Tomy Winata, the initiator of the project. (dyl/ebf)
