T

he government is planning to reclassify the proposed Sunda Strait Bridge (SSB) as a solicited project to end confusion surrounding its legal basis, a senior minister says.

“There is support for classifying the SSB as a solicited project so that better preparations can be made for its planning and its feasibility study,” Deputy Finance Minister Mahendra Siregar told reporters here on Tuesday.

Under Presidential Regulation No. 67/2005 on public/private partnerships (PPP), public infrastructure projects can be designated as unsolicited or solicited.

An unsolicited project, according to the regulation, must be initiated by a private entity that must submitted to the government a well-defined proposal and a completed feasibility study. If the government decides to proceed with the unsolicited project, it cannot provide guarantees or financing to the private entity.

On the other hand, solicited projects are proposed by the government in its mid-and long-term infrastructure development programs.

Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo previous said that there was confusion surrounding construction of the SSB bridge, whose initial cost estimates have topped a staggering Rp 100 trillion (US$10.39 billion).

While the bridge is currently classified as an unsolicited project, official proposals for the mega-project have been circulating since the mid-1960s, when the bridge was conceived during president Sukarno’s tenure.

To clarify the bridge’s status, Agus has proposed revising Presidential Instruction No. 86/2011 on the Sunda Strait Strategic Infrastructure Region (KSISS).

The KSISS is a regional development program in the Sunda Strait between that also includes the bridge.

Mahendra said that the government may also appoint a state-owned firm to complete the feasibility study for the project.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that the consortium that submitted the unsolicited proposal for the bridge could still be involved in completing the feasibility study, provided tha the government appoints a state-owned
enterprise to conduct it.

“We are still formulating the scheme on how to assign this job [feasibility study] to a state-owned enterprise,” Hatta said.

If a state-owned enterprise works on the feasibility study, the KSISS regulation may need to be revised.

Under the regulation, the initiator, PT Graha Banten Lampung Sejahtera (GBLS), a consortium led by tycoon Tomy Winata’s Artha Graha Network, has been mandated to carry out the feasibility study.

Separately, GBLS president director Agung Prabowo said that the consortium would wait for the government’s final decision. “We will comply and maintain our loyalty to any official decision made by the government on the SSB project,” Agung told The Jakarta Post via text message.

The SSB has been proposed to connect Java and Sumatra, two of the most economically prosperous regions in the nation, through Banten and Lampung.

The bridge is planned to be at least 29 kilometers long — six times the length of the Suramadu bridge that connects Java and Madura — and come with six vehicle lanes, double railway tracks and several motorcycle lanes.