(Our visit) is to see inflation rates and prices and observe infrastructures, particularly roadsJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing will take over road repair projects in Lampung Province if the local authorities are unable to do the job.
"If the province or district authorities have no capability (to fix the road), the ministry will take over the work, particularly to repair heavily damaged roads," the president stated during his visit to Natar Market in South Lampung, as observed from the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel on Friday.
He remarked that the projects to repair several roads in Lampung Province would commence at the earliest.
Meanwhile, apart from inspecting road conditions in Lampung, the president said that he undertook the visit to the southernmost province on Sumatra Island to observe food prices in traditional markets.
Jokowi stressed that proper road infrastructure would reduce logistics costs and prevent commodity prices and regional inflation from surging.
"(Our visit) is to see inflation rates and prices and observe infrastructures, particularly roads. Logistics costs depend on the infrastructure quality we have," he stated.
Earlier, the president said he was keen to confirm the accuracy of videos depicting heavily damaged roads in Lampung circulating on social media, and hence, he took the decision to visit the province on Friday.
"I want to see whether the videos (circulating on social media) and those reported by media are true or not," Jokowi remarked during his visit to Sarinah Department Store here, Thursday (May 4).
The central authority has started collecting data on damaged roads in cities and districts in Lampung, he said, adding that road damage might be caused by the local authority's failure to allocate a portion of the regional budget to improve their infrastructure.
Related news: President to inspect Lampung's damaged roads on May 5: Minister
Related news: Minister Effendy observes Eid return flow movement at Panjang Port
Related news: Ministry denounces Lampung governor's response to public criticism
Translator: Mentari Dwi G, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
