The construction of the Semarang-Demak toll road will soon kick off and is expected to conclude in 2020, improving connectivity between cities on Java in line with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s infrastructure push.

The 27-kilometer toll road, one of the government’s national strategic projects, will be built in parallel with the construction of a seawall along the coastline beside the toll road route, which can serve as a buffer against coastal flooding that normally hits the area, according to the Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry.

“This is part of the Java toll road network. Today, we will start the toll road development on the northern route of Java from Semarang to Surabaya, with the initial stage of development being that from Semarang to Demak. The toll road will be integrated with the seawall to prevent floods in Semarang,” said PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono.

After Semarang – Demak, the northern Java coastal toll road will be extended to Kudus, Pati, Rembang, Lasem and Tuban to eventually reach Surabaya, hence the trans-Java toll road network will extend from Merak in Banten to Pasuruan in East Java.

Therefore, the northern coastal toll road of Java would complement and extend the separate 1,167-km trans-Java toll road project, Basuki added.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who was raised in Semarang, said the seawall and toll road would play a significant role for Semarang to prevent coastal flooding that had happened repeatedly in Semarang and its surrounding areas over the years.

“The seawall will be so useful for people living on the northern coast of Java, thus preventing areas being submerged through coastal floods. It will also improve the living quality of people who live with yearly flooding,” she added. 

Sri Mulyani said the Semarang - Demak toll road as well as all other infrastructure development and better connectivity across Java were crucial to lure investment and to keep economic growth steady in Indonesia in light of global recessionary threats.

“Java represents 60 percent of Indonesia’s economy; thus, if we maintain economic growth in Java at above 5 percent, the economy in the whole of Indonesia will also stand at 5 percent when the world faces threats of a recession,” she said.  

The Semarang-Demak toll road development will require investment of Rp 15.3 trillion, which will come from a public-private partnership scheme, in which the government-sponsored infrastructure guarantee agency PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (PII) will act as an investment guarantor.

Indonesia will need Rp 6,421 trillion to fund all infrastructure development projects over the course of the next five years, according to the 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN). Therefore, said Sri Mulyani, infrastructure financing could not rely solely on the state and would require private-sector involvement.

Indonesia Toll Road Authority (BPJT) head Danang Prikesit said the Semarang - Demak toll road was important to boost connectivity from Semarang to Gresik and Surabaya in East Java as well as to revitalize industrial zones along the route. 

To mark the development of the Semarang - Demak toll road, three agreements were signed on Monday. The first is a toll road concession agreement between BPJT, which is under the PUPR Ministry, and PT Pembangunan Perumahan Semarang – Demak, a consortium of toll road developers PT Pembangunan Perumahan, PT Wijaya Karya and PT Misi Mulia Metrical.

The second agreement is between Minister Basuki and the acting president director of PT PII, Muhammad Wahid Sutopo, and a third agreement is between PII and PT PPSD on investment guarantees for toll road development.

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