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Jokowi to speed up trans-Kalimantan toll road project
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo delivers a speech to launch Juwata International Airport in Tarakan, North Kalimantan, on Wednesday. The President was scheduled to inspect the construction of the trans-Kalimantan highway project on Thursday. (Antara/Fadlansyah)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo visited the construction site of the ongoing trans-Kalimantan highway project on Thursday in a bid to speed up the long-delayed 99-kilometer toll road worth Rp13.11 trillion (US$990 million).
Soon after its inauguration in 2010, the project was stalled due to land acquisition problems. In November 2015, Jokowi urged the East Kalimantan governor to continue the project. The toll road is expected to cut the drive between Balikpapan and Samarinda from three hours to one hour.
"It began again in November. Construction has reached 7.6 km," Jokowi said, adding that 85 percent of land has been acquired.
He expressed his optimism that the remaining 15 percent could be resolved soon.
The Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road is expected to be completed by May 2019. A section from Balikpapan to Sepinggan is currently underway and is expected to be finished in April.
The toll-road's construction is divided into five sections. The first section, connecting Balikpapan and Samboja, is a length of 13 km, while the second section is dubbed Samboja-Palaran II, the third section is named Samboja-Palaran II, the fourth section connects Palaran-Jembatan Mahkota and section five will connect Balikpapan-Sepinggan.
During the visit, Jokowi and First Lady Iriana were accompanied by Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, State Secretary Pratikno and East Kalimantan Governor Awang Ishak Faroek. (ags)
