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Govt prioritizes roadwork in Jambi, North Sumatra to avoid inflation
The President has targeted the provinces of Jambi and North Sumatra for accelerated road repairs in a bid to keep inflation stable while pointing to local administrations to take responsibility for the condition of their roads.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) gestures as he inspects the newly completed Bandar Interchange in Jombang, East Java, accompanied by Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono (center) and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, in this file photo taken on Dec. 20, 2018. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari )
T
he central government has taken over roadwork to improve public infrastructure in two more provinces, with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo pledging to prioritize severely damaged roads used for manufacturing and logistics to avoid an inflationary spike.
Following his infrastructure inspection visit this week in Jambi and North Sumatra, Jokowi said the government would immediately repair damaged roads in the two provinces. He added that it would also disburse Rp 800 billion for roadwork in North Sumatra.
"But this will take time because the number of damaged roads we had earlier was already [high]," the President said on Wednesday, on the sidelines of a road inspection visit to North Labuhan Batu, North Sumatra. He added that North Sumatra was not the only province with damaged roads, and that roads in other provinces were in a state “more or less similar”.
Jokowi said the government would continue to improve road infrastructure, as it had received public complaints over poor road conditions in more than 7,000 regions through its social media accounts.
“I have identified damaged roads located in 7,400 areas based on reports from the public received on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
"We cannot allow severe damage to our logistics and production roads. This will be disruptive and will increase logistics costs, which will lead to inflation. That’s why we aim to repair and improve our infrastructure," the President said.
He underlined that provincial administrations were still responsible for fixing public roads in their region, and that the central government would provide assistance only for regions that did not have the capacity to fix their roads.
