According to a video broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel observed from Jakarta, the inauguration of the two toll road sections was centered at the Kisaran Toll Gate, Asahan District, North Sumatra.
"This toll road will help boost regional competitiveness and create new economic growth points both in North Sumatra and Jambi. As the main toll road, Trans Sumatra is expected to speed up the mobility of people and goods and ease logistics distribution," he remarked.
On the occasion, the president inaugurated Section 2 of the Indrapura-Kisaran Toll Road, stretching 32.15 kilometers across the regions of Lima Puluh and Kisaran, complementing Section 1 of the toll road that spans 15.6 kilometers from Indrapura to Lima Puluh.
As a part of the Trans Sumatra Toll Road, the construction of the Indrapura-Kisaran Toll Road began in 2018 using investment totaling Rp6.32 trillion (USD406.3 million).
Meanwhile, the Bayung Lencir-Tempino Section, spanning 34 kilometers, serves as the third section of the Betung-Tempino Toll Road, which has been under construction as part of the Trans Sumatra Toll Road since 2022.
In his speech, Jokowi dismissed the assumptions circulating among members of the public that the government solely depends on private actors and their financial support to construct national toll roads.
He explained that the government had been employing state-owned enterprises to build many toll roads using funds collected from investment projects as well as a portion of the State Budget (APBN)
The head of state also underlined that the government would opt for APBN allocations if a toll road project's internal rate of return is low.
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Translator: Rangga P, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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