T

he Central Java administration is set to clean up hundreds of buildings along the Solo-Kertosono toll road in Ngemplak district, Boyolali regency, to make way for an airport railway project.

The project for a 13.5 kilometer railway linking Adisumarmo Airport with the Solo Balapan train station commenced construction on April 8. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo attended the groundbreaking ceremony. The project is expected to be completed by 2018.

Budi Setyono, chief of Dibal village in Ngemlpak, said hundreds of buildings and plots of land owned by locals would be cleared for the project. The Central Java Transportation Agency has disseminated information about the evictions.

“The locals are asking for proper compensation for the project,” he said.

The construction project needs around 42 hectares of land where 7-ha belong to Boyolali and Surakarta residents. However, affected local residents of Surakarta claim they have not been given any information by the local administration or state-owned railway company PT KAI.

Sugeng, a resident of Kadipiro district in Banjarsari, said locals had asked for clarity on which areas of Kadipiro would be effected by the project.