... with the toll road now there, it will develop fast in the next five years."Sabahbalau (ANTARA News) - People in the Sumatran province of Lampung have been waiting for the past 20 years for a toll road which is now being realized, chairman of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR), Zulkifli Hasan, said.
"The community in Lampung has been waiting for 20 years (for the toll road development)," Hasan, who hails from Lampung, said after inspecting the construction of the Trans-Sumatra toll road section between Bakauheni and Terbanggibesar in Sabahbalau, Lampung Selatan, along with President Joko Widodo and his entourage here, on Friday.
He said people had so far only heard pledges but the project had never been realized.
He said the road would ease economic access to the province and is expected to help the region to grow fast.
"The region used to be full of bushes but with the toll road now there, it will develop fast in the next five years," he said.
He said it was earlier believed that the project would not be realized but now it has become real and the people in the region would soon be able to enjoy it.
The MPR chairman and President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) were also accompanied by a number of ministers related to the project.
The President had expressed his satisfaction over the progress of the development project.
Upon arrival at 14.20 hours, President Jokowi was welcomed by Governor Ridho Ficardo and immediately left for the site at Sabahbalau village, 77 kilometers away, to conduct the inspection.
President Jokowi is scheduled to stay in the region for two days until Saturday, and will also inspect the construction of a toll road in Palembang, South Sumatra.
He is also scheduled to meet with chief editors in Lampung on Friday evening.
(Reporting by Budisantoso B & Roy Baskara/Uu.H-YH/R-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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