T

he government has affirmed that the development of the Trans-Sumatra toll road will continue in a relatively smooth fashion as the relevant local administrations are assisting in land acquisition.

'€œWe'€™ve obtained an agreement letter on the construction site [SP2LP] from the Lampung governor for the construction of the Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar section of the toll road,'€ Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said late last week.

With the letter, land acquisition for a total of 434 kilometers would soon be carried out and accelerated so that the government could launch the construction of three toll road sections of the Trans-Sumatra highway on April 25, he said.

Basuki said that the three sections would be from Bakauheni to Terbanggi Besar, from Terbanggi Besar to Kayu Agung and from Kayu Agung to Palembang and thence to Betung, which all would support the development of the Merak, Bakauheni, Bandar Lampung, Palembang and Tanjung Api-Api (MBBPT) industrial areas in Sumatra.

While an SP2LP has been obtained for the Bakauheni-Terbanggi section, similar agreement letters would also be issued for the other two sections some time soon as the government has been in discussions with the relevant administrations.

The construction of the three sections will be the second stage of the Trans-Sumatra highway development, which was begun with the construction of the Medan-Binjai section in North Sumatra in December last year.

The Trans-Sumatra project, which has been long delayed because of land acquisition issues, is estimated to cost around Rp 360 trillion (US$27.7 billion).

The 2,700 kilometer mega toll road will comprise 24 sections connecting major cities across Sumatra, resulting in competitive commodity prices as distribution costs within the island can be significantly reduced.

Sumatra produces key commodities for the export and domestic markets, including palm oil, coffee, rubber, coal, tin and oil and gas.

Basuki said that the government had also formed a consortium consisting of state-owned enterprises PT Hutama Karya, PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA), PT Waskita Karya and PT Jasa Marga to make sure that the construction of the mega toll road would proceed smoothly.

'€œThe state-owned enterprises minister will decide whether to invite other state enterprises to take part in the project,'€ he said, adding that Hutama Karya would chair the consortium.

Hutama Karya president director I Gusti Ngurah Putra told reporters that his firm would also wait for the revision of a presidential decree, which initially appointed his firm to lead the construction of four sections of the toll road, to grant his firm the authority to lead the construction of the whole 24 sections of trans-Sumatra project.

Basuki added that while the government would definitely invite bids from the private sector for the construction of the three sections supporting the MBBPT areas, the newly established consortium would use an injection of state capital to finance the project.

The government and the House of Representatives have agreed to provide stimulus funds to Hutama Karya and Waskita Karya to the tune of Rp 3.6 trillion and Rp 3.5 trillion, respectively.

The three sections of toll road for which land is currently being acquired, meanwhile, are estimated to cost a total of Rp 53.63 trillion, according to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).