GOVERNMENT TO CUT TOLL ROAD TARIFF RATES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 26 (Antara) - The government plans to lower next week toll road tariff rates which are considered too high and have been complained of by many toll road users.          Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi expects that toll tariffs will be cut by 20 percent following  the government's decision to extend the periods of toll road operators' (BUJT's) business concessions.          The toll rate is to be lowered after the government considered extending the concession period of BUJT with a tax burden of about 15-20 percent. "So the toll rates can be cut by half," Sumadi said after giving a speech at the first anniversary of Papernusa firm in Jakarta on Sunday (March 25).         The government will also provide tax breaks for goods transportation so that logistics transportation cost would not be burdensome. The highest toll road tariff rate will be reduced by half or down to about 40 percent.           Later there will be a change in the classification of logistics trucks. The vehicle of logistics truck will be changed, according to Minister Sumadi. Rates that are so expensive will be cheaper. "For example,  toll road tariffs in East Java, now Rp180,000, will be reduced to Rp90,000,"he said.

MORATORIUM ON TOLL ROADS EXPECTED TO END IN TWO WEEKS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 26 (Antara) - The government has issued a moratorium to temporarily stop the construction of 32 elevated roads, bridges, and Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects across the country, following the collapse of several infrastructure projects.          The construction work is temporarily halted pending thorough evaluation, which is expected to last for two weeks. The moratorium was announced by the government, through the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, on Feb 20, 2018.          "I have instructed that the construction work on all elevated sections of toll roads, LRT, and bridges should be halted beginning this morning. The Construction Safety Committee (KKK) will conduct an auditing," PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono told the press at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta on Tuesday (Feb 20).        The minister made the statement in connection with the collapse of a girder of the elevated Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Malayu (Becakayu) toll road project in Jakarta recently, injuring seven workers. A number of similar incidents have previously taken place in Indonesia.           Based on records, since Aug 1, 2017, until Feb 20, 2018, at least 14 projects underwent accidents in Jakarta, Palembang (South Sumatra), Bogor (West Java), Cikampek (West Java), Pasuruan (East Java), Pemalang-Batang (Central Java), and Depok (West Java).          The most serious one was the collapse of a girder launcher at the construction site of a quadruple railway project on Feb 4, 2018, in East Jakarta, killing four workers and injuring others.

TRANS-JAVA TOLL ROAD TO BE CONNECTED BY 2019

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 3 (Antara) - The government has targeted to finish the construction of Trans-Java Toll Road connecting Merak in the western tip of Java Island with Banyuwangi in the eastern tip of the Island by 2019.          The he pre-construction work of the Probolinggo-Banyuwangi section having a length of 170.36 kilometers (km) is now being accelerated, Herry Trisaputra Zuna, Head of the Toll Road Regulator Agency (BPJT), said on Friday. It is expected that this section will enter the construction phase in the middle of 2018.          By 2018, the government expects that all sections of the Trans-Java from Merak in Banten Province to Probolinggo in East Java province, will be connected. Thus, the remaining section will be from Probolinggo to Banyuwangi in the eastern tip of Java Island.           "By the end of 2018, the Trans-Java Toll Road will be connected not only to Surabaya (capital of East Java province) but also to Probolinggo," Herry Trisaputra Zuna, Head of the Toll Road Regulator Agency (BPJT) of the Public Works Ministry, said in Jakarta, Friday.           In 2018, the government is targeting to accomplish an additional 766.3km of new toll road sections across the country. Thus, by the end of 2018, the length of  toll roads, which are already in operation, will reach 1,321.5km. By 2019, new toll roads will cover 533.1 km  so that the total length of toll roads operating in the country will reach 1,854.6 km.          The next section, namely the Probolinggo-Banyuwngi will also enter the pre-construction phase.

AIR TOLL ROUTE PROGRAM CUTS PRICES OF GOODS IN PAPUA

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 17 (Antara) - The government has launched an integrated sea and air toll road program to enable smooth delivery of goods to Papua's remote areas and to cut the high price disparities with those in other regions of the country.          In order to reach mountainous and remote areas in Papua, the people had so far used pioneer flight transportation with subsidized tickets. However, this has no impact on goods whose prices have high disparities with other regions due to transportation constraints.          Hence, the government has launched an integrated air and sea toll road program. Through the Ministry of Transportation, the government this year earmarked a subsidy fund of Rp21 billion to make the air toll road program a success.         The program has shown a positive impact, particularly in the price of cement. Residents in the mountainous areas of Papua will now be able to purchase cement at a price far lower than the previous price. In Puncak Jaya District, for example, the price per 50 kilogram of a sack of cement has dropped from between Rp1 million and Rp2 million to only Rp500 thousand.          The new price was effective from Aug 11, 2017. Besides, in Puncak Jaya, the price is also effective in six other districts of Jayawijaya, Tolikara, Lanny Jaya, Nduga, Yalimo, and Central Mamberamo.

JAKARTA-SEMARANG TOLL ROADS TO BE PASSABLE THIS YEAR

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 11 (Antara) - Eid al-Fitr travelers in Java can breathe a sigh of relief, as the government has ensured that the toll roads connecting Jakarta with Semarang in Central Java will be passable this year.         Every year, Eid al-Fitr travelers heading to their hometowns, known as "mudik," for holidays, or "Lebaran," often face major gridlocks. With the Jakarta-Semarang toll roads, covering a distance of about 460 kilometers (km), to become passable for vehicles, travelers will have more alternative lanes to avoid traffic jams.          The Jakarta-Semarang toll roads are parts of the Trans Java Toll Road, which stretches some 815 km from Merak of Banten Province in the western tip of Java to Surabaya of East Java in the eastern part of the island.          The Merak-Jakarta and Jakarta-Cikampek combined sections, spanning about 260 km, have been operational since 1984 and 1988 respectively. The Cikampek-Cirebon section, spanning some 160 km, was inaugurated in the middle of 2016. The Cirebon-Semarang section is expected to become operational this year.

GOVT TO OPERATE SIX NEW TOLL ROADS IN 2017

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 20 (Antara) - To smooth traffic flows in Java and Sumatra, state-owned toll road construction company PT Jasa Marga is developing toll roads that will connect trans-Java and trans Sumatra highways.          PT Jasa Marga aims to finish all toll road projects that have secured concessions by 2019. Some sections, particularly those in Java, are already operational. In 2017, the company plans to operate six new toll roads, with a total length of 235 kilometers (km), in Java and Sumatra.          "The toll roads are developed to reduce traffic gridlocks on the main roads. Moreover, the number of private vehicles virtually exceed the limits," AVP Corporate Communications of PT Jasa Marga Dwimawan Heru said in Bekasi, West Java, on Sunday (Dec 18).          Road users are increasingly facing congestion but their coverage time is expected to be reduced with the construction of the turnpikes.     For this purpose, PT Jasa Marga will open six new toll road sections in 2017. Five in Java and one in Sumatra.

TRANS-JAVA TOLL ROADS TO BE CONNECTED IN THREE YEARS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 13 (Antara) - The government is poised to connect its ambitious Trans-Java toll roads, which stretch 806 kilometers (km) from Cikampek in West Java to Probolinggo in East Java, by 2018.          Two newly completed sections of the Trans-Java turnpikes will become operational this week, after President Joko Widodo inaugurated the 13.61 km Gempol-Pandaan section in East Java on Friday and the 116.7 km Cikampek-Palimanan (Cikapali) section in West Java on Saturday.          "This morning, they assured me that they were ready to ensure that all toll roads in Java will be connected by 2018," Jokowi, as the President is intimately called, stated when opening the Gempol-Pandaan toll road in East Java.          He said that the government is optimistic that toll roads across Java will be connected by 2018, following the completion of two sections of its toll road development projects this month.

CIKAPLI TOLL ROAD TO BE OPERATIONAL BEFORE FASTING MONTH

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 6 (Antara) -- The 116.7-kilometer-long Cikampek-Palimanan (Cikapali) toll road in Indramayu district and Cirebon municipality, West Java, is expected to be operational before the fasting month commences on June 18.         According to Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, the Cikapali toll road, which will reduce traffic congestion in the main traffic lane of Java's northern coastal areas (Pantura) by some 40 percent, will soon be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).         However, the minister did not reveal the exact date of the inauguration, only stating that it will be done before the fasting month of Ramadan begins on June 18 but after Jokowi's son's wedding celebrations on June 10 and 11.          "The president will hold the wedding celebrations on June 10 and 11. The fasting month will commence on June 18. So the inauguration will be organized sometime between these two events," Hadimuljono said while inspecting the Cikapali toll road on Tuesday.          With the operation of the toll road, gridlocks in trans-Java highways in Pantura can be eased by 40 percent, particularly during the exodus of travelers in the post-fasting period.          "The operation of the Cikapali toll road will reduce traffic congestion by 40 percent in the trans-Java highways in the Pantura region," the minister affirmed.

TWO MEGAPROJECTS EXPECTD TO LINK JAVA, SUMATRA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 28 (ANTARA) - The government is now planning to build two major projects which are expected to link economic activities between Java and Sumatra, involving a total budget of about US$59.1 billion.              The two megaprojects are the 27.4 km Sunda Strait Bridge (JSS) worth US$27.8 billion and the 2,000 km Trans Sumatra toll road valued at US$31.25 billion.              Expected to help improve the flow of goods and human transportation, as well as to help generate economic development on the two islands of Java and Sumatra, the two megaprojects are scheduled for completion by 2025.              So far, land transportation from Sumatra to Java and vice versa has been achieved through the Trans-Sumatra highways and the ferry services between Bakauheni port in the eastern tip of Sumatra and Merak harbor in the western tip of Java.