Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said the opening of the section would support the timely completion of the 87-kilometer Ngawi-Kertonoso toll road before the target completion date of the Trans-Java toll road at the end of this year.

“Sections spanning from Solo to Ngawi are more than 90 percent complete. We only need to build the overpasses,” he said on Saturday as quoted by tempo.co.

As of the first week of January, the construction of the Ngawi-Kertosono section, which spans 49.5 km, has reached 98.5 percent of completion, while land procurement has achieved 99.88 percent progress.

Basuki said in the first few weeks of operation, drivers could use the toll road section for free.

"The toll fee will [later] be around Rp 1,200 to 1,300 for category I vehicles [such as sedans, four-wheel drives, small trucks and buses]," he said.

The Ngawi-Kertonoso section is part of the 177 km Solo-Ngawi-Kertosono toll road and the greater Trans-Java toll road totaling 1,000 km in length, spanning from Merak Port in Banten to Banyuwangi in East Java. About half of the Trans-Java toll road has already begun operation.

The section that will soon open is being developed by PT Ngawi Kertosono Jaya, a subsidiary of state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga. Meanwhile, the remaining 37 km of road that connects Wilangan to the Kertosono section is being developed by the government with a loan from China. (srs/lnd)

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