Once operational, the toll road will help to solve the problem of heavy traffic, especially for commodity distributionJakarta (ANTARA) - The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry has set a target for the Padang-Sicincin section of the Padang-Pekanbaru toll road to become operational in December 2021.
Construction of the toll road is projected to boost the local economy, particularly in the agriculture, industry, and tourism sectors, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono stated.
"Once operational, the toll road will help to solve the problem of heavy traffic, especially for commodity distribution," Hadimuljono noted in a statement here on Wednesday.
Construction of the 30.4-kilometer (km)-long Padang-Sicincin section, which began in February 2018, has reached 20.49 percent completion and is targeted to become operational in December 2021.
"The progress in the development of the toll road depends on the land procurement process. The road construction could be conducted faster once the land is available," the minister pointed out.
The 254-km Pekanbaru-Padang toll road is divided into six sections: section I, Padang-Sicincin; Section II, Sicincin-Bukittinggi; Section III, Bukittinggai Payakumbuh; Section IV, Payakumbuh-Pangkalan; Section V, Pangkalan-Bangkinang; and Section VI, Bangkinang-Pekanbaru.
The toll road construction work is targeted to be completed and commence operation in 2025.
The work to construct the 40-km Pekanbaru-Bangkinan section is 20 percent complete.
State-owned construction company PT Hutama Karya was tasked with the Pekanbaru-Padang toll road construction work, with investment totaling Rp78 trillion. The Toll Road Concession Agreement was inked on October 11, 2017.
Pekanbaru-Padang, which will become a branch of the Trans Sumatra toll road, is projected to reduce the travel time between the two cities in the neighboring provinces, from nine hours to three to four hours.
Currently, some 467.6 kilometers of the Trans Sumatra toll road that is operational comprises Bakauheni - Terbanggi Besar, spanning 141 km; Terbanggi Besar - Pematang Panggang - Kayu Agung, reaching 189 km; Palembang - Indralaya, extending 22 km; Medan - Binjai, spanning 10.46 km; Medan - Kualanamu - Tebing Tinggi, 62.2 km; and Belawan - Medan - Tanjung Morawa, 43 km. The 131-km Pekanbaru - Dumai section will be inaugurated in the near future.
Related news: Jokowi seeks alternative funding sources for Trans-Sumatra highway
Related news: 15 toll road sections to be inaugurated in 2020: Ministry
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Aji Cakti, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
