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Indonesia upbeat over infrastructure
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A motorcyclist passes through a section of the Surakarta-Ngawi toll road in Ngemplak, Boyolali, Central Java, on May. 30. (Antara/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
S
tate-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Rini Soemarno can now exhale as the BawenSalatiga toll road in Central Java kicked off operations early this week.
The 17.6-kilometer BawenSalatiga toll road, dubbed Indonesia’s loveliest toll road, will link Semarang, the provincial capital, and Surakarta, and is part of the Trans-Java toll road project, a key component to the government’s infrastructure push.
Following the toll road’s inauguration, Rini expressed optimism over the country’s potential to build toll roads spanning 1,800 km, longer than its initial target of 1,200 km. The roads, she said, could stretch from Merak in Banten to Banyuwangi in East Java.
“I like driving, and when President [Joko] Jokowi [Widodo]’s Trans-Java toll road project finishes in 2019, I am going to drive from Merak to Banyuwangi,” Rini said in her speech during an infrastructure forum held by the State- Owned Enterprises Ministry, the Association of State Owned Banks (Himbara) and The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
In addition to the section connecting Bawen and Salatiga, the President recently inaugurated the 40.5-km Jombang-Mojokerto highway in East Java. Ongoing toll road projects include the Salatiga-Kartasura toll road in Central Java and Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar toll road in Lampung.
Rini’s optimism comes against the backdrop of surging doubt from investors over the government’s infrastructure program after stateowned construction company PT Waskita Karya faced difficulties in finding investors to finance its projects. Earlier this month, it said it could not secure the required bids for 10 toll roads, pushing down its shares for a few days. Other SOEs in the construction sector, such as PT Wijaya Karya and PT Pembangunan Perumahan, also saw their shares decline.
However, during the meeting, the minister ensured that toll roads, along with the 35,000-megawatt (MW) electricity program, would be prioritized.
