M

ore than two-thirds of Bandung regency residents living on the outskirts of the city proper engage regularly in activities in the city, but roads into town remain narrow and subject to chronic traffic congestion.

The best-laid arterial toll road plans, designed 15 years ago, have yet to attract enough investors and momentum to get started.

Meantime the bottlenecks set back many farmers in Ciwidey, Pangalengan and Soreang districts, who market cash crops - mainly vegetables and fruit - to Bandung, Jakarta and other major cities: It can take more than two hours to drive from Ciwidey, just 30 km distant, to the Kopo toll gate at the city's edge.

Some spend more than five hours on the road just transporting their produce.

"They can't get their produce to market while it's still fresh because they're spending so much time on the road under the scorching sun. Their vegetables arrive limp," said Muhamad Ikhsan, a Bandung regency councilor.

"Hundreds of strawberry farmers in hilly Ciwidey and Pangalengan also can't take the opportunity to supply a major strawberry exporter in Jakarta because they only accept strawberries picked within four hours."

The main thoroughfares linking the southern outskirts to the city - Jl Bojongsoang, Jl Mohamad Toha and Jl Kopo - are severely congested, hampering the mobility of Bandung regency and Bandung city residents alike.

Bandung Regent Obar Sobarna said the chronic congestion had turned into a major problem which had disrupted the economic traffic in the regency.

"Economic activities without sound infrastructure are ineffective. We need good, smooth roads," he said.

The regency has yet to line up investors willing to develop two toll road projects, proposed since the 1990s, which are expected to address the severe jam-ups.

The proposed 19.2-kilometer Majalaya-Gedebage toll road would link Bandung regency with eastern Bandung city; the 12-km Soreang-Pasirkoja toll road would set up an artery on the western side.

According to the Bandung regency's website, the Majalaya-Gedebage toll road is to cost some Rp 746.05 billion (US$63.9 million): Rp 16.78 billion for land acquisition, Rp 10.37 billion for engineering and supervision and Rp 718.9 for construction.

The Soroja toll road is to cost some Rp 671 billion with construction at Rp 455 billion and land acquisition at Rp 216 billion.

Land acquisition for the longer Majalaya-Gedebage tollroad will be cheaper because the terrain is mostly rice fields whereas the Soroja toll road is set to pass through already built-up areas, requiring compensation for buildings as well as land.

Ikhsan said both projects had been postponed because many investors regarded them as unprofitable. Since most travelers in the area live on modest incomes, they still rely on public transportation rather than private cars, so the toll roads would not reap much revenue.

"Most toll roads users are definitely private car owners rather than public vans and buses," Ikhsan said.

He added the central government, which had promised to be involved, had not come through with its strong commitment to help out with land acquisition which would end up costing a hefty Rp 229 billion.

The construction of the Soroja turnpike, a vital access for residents in Cianjur and south Garut traveling to Bandung city, was eventually topped the priority list since 2007. It could also ease the tourist traffic to the agrotourism area south of Bandung, including around Ciwidey, Pangalengan, Situ Cileunca and Rancabali.

Based on a 2002 Bandung Institute of Technology study, the Soroja toll road - bypassing Kopo Soreang, Gajahmekar, Cigondewah Kidul and Margaasih, and accessible via seven interchanges - would experience increasing usage averaging 3.92 percent per year.

The study also shows a single passenger car could save up to Rp 5,089 compared to using the regular road, which is severely congested every day.

If the toll fare is set at Rp 3,500, estimated profits come in at Rp 35.3 million per day, or Rp 10.2 billion per year, after operating and maintenance costs. The study also estimated the break event point would be achieved in 20 years time.

Regent Obar said the central government had committed to pay for 50 percent of the land acquisition for the Soroja turnpike, with the rest covered by the provincial administration (Rp 67.5 billion), Bandung regency administration (Rp 32 billion) and Bandung city administration (Rp 15 billion).

A foreign investor had also expressed its interest to invest Rp 1.1 trillion for the Soroja toll road.

However, after waiting for other investors to join in for 15 years, the project remains up in the air.

Although a number of studies have been carried out, including various options, the regency administration has yet to realize its grand idea of a smooth transportation network.

The foreign investor reportedly canceled its loan plans when the project stalled, while the central government has yet to make good on its commitment to allocate and disburse the land acquisition funds.