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Jokowi's entourage stops due to bumpy road in Lampung
Certain connecting roads in South Lampung regency, Lampung, appear to still be damaged despite President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s visit last year, following a viral video showing the worsening condition of the roads in the Sumatra’s southernmost province.
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President Joko Widodo inspects a damaged road he passed on his way to Bandan Hurip Village in South Lampung regency, Lampung, on July 11, 2024. (BPMI Setpres/Vico)
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ertain connecting roads in South Lampung regency, Lampung, appear to still be damaged despite President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s visit last year, following a viral video showing the worsening conditions of the roads in Sumatra’s southernmost province.
The President’s entourage, traveling from Dr. H. Bob Bazar Regional General Hospital to Bandan Hurip village in South Lampung, on Thursday suddenly stopped in the middle of Jl. Palas Sukaraya due to the bumps and potholes.
Jokowi, who was sitting in the same car as Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan got out of the car to check the road’s condition. He then talked to Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono who was also in the convoy, as stated in an official statement.
“I was checking the road earlier, as there were potholes here and there. I immediately gave instructions to the [public works] minister [to fix it],” said the President.
Jokowi was in Lampung to check the province’s preparations for the dry season, as well as to inaugurate 16 roads repaired using Rp 806 billion (US$ 49.89 million) from the state budget.
Read also: Jokowi inspects Lampung roads after viral TikTok complaint
Of the 16 roads inaugurated, six were provincial roads and the other 10 were district roads with a total length of 102.57 kilometers.
“These roads will speed up the transportation of logistics and the mobility of people,” Jokowi said while inaugurating a road in North Lampung regency, as quoted from Kompas.id. “Back then, I saw a lot of potholes, but now it’s smooth”.
The construction of new roads and the repair of damaged roads in Lampung is part of the 2023 presidential instruction (Inpres) on accelerating regional road connectivity.
Last year, the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry allocated Rp 14.6 trillion from the state budget to build and repair 2,873 km of regional roads across Indonesia. About Rp 806 billion of it was used for roads in Lampung.
Minister Basuki said the government had proposed a further budget of Rp 15 trillion to the Finance Minister for this year to construct and repair damaged roads in the regions.
Read also: Jokowi delays relocation to Nusantara, will move there ‘once the place is ready’
While the government is currently reviewing priority areas that need road repairs, Basuki said on Thursday that one of the roads that would be repaired immediately this year, according to the President's direction, was Jl. Palas Sukaraya.
Last year, the poor roads in Lampung made the rounds nationwide after a student from Lampung studying in Sydney, Australia, Bima Yudho Saputro, made a TikTok video criticizing the local administration's inaction in repairing roads in the province.
At the time, Jokowi immediately visited Lampung to check on the poor roads and said that if regional administrations could not repair the damaged road, the public works ministry would step in to do so.
