Central Lampung (ANTARA) - Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that construction work on 17 damaged roads in Lampung Province had reached 60-percent completion.

"Today, I review the progress (in construction) of these roads repairs," he remarked when met in Central Lampung, Lampung Province, on Friday.

According to Jokowi, the average progress in construction work on the 17 damaged roads, carried out by the central government, has reached 60 percent.

"It has not been 100-percent completed. Currently, it is around 60-70 percent (complete)," he remarked.

The president explained that the progress in road repair work that he reviewed, namely on the Randu-Seputih Surabaya Road, located in Rumbia Sub-district, Central Lampung District, has reached 60 percent.

Earlier, Lampung Province had received a budget allocation of Rp800.9 billion that was used to repair 17 regional roads, he remarked.

This repair is a follow-up to community complaints and has been handled by the government through the Regional Road Presidential Instruction (IJD).

"The budget has been disbursed to repair 17 roads in Lampung. The regional government is also actively building communication with us, and the progress is quite good," he noted.

Director General of Highways of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Hedy Rahadian also stated that from the budget of Rp800 billion, some 104 kilometers of road have been repaired.

The budget allocation for repairing road infrastructure is an intensive form of support from the central government to regional governments to help maintain the regional economy with easy accessibility, Rahadian affirmed.

"The implementation of road repairs through the Regional Road Presidential Instruction (IJD) is our concern regarding the regional government's limited ability. Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, the regional economy was disrupted. We hope this road repair can help to improve the condition," he stated.

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Translator: Ruth Intan S K, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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