Last year, the government had set itself a target to accelerate the construction of the Trans Sumatra highway, which was scheduled to start in September 2013, but it turned out to be null and void.
As the date for the groundbreaking of the project has not yet been revealed, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) across the Sumatra Island plans to set up a private company to immediately commence work on the project.
"Kadin will establish a private company, PT Andalas, which will focus on the construction of the Trans Sumatra Highway," South Sumatra Kadin Chairman Ahmad Rizal stated here on Friday.
He explained that PT Andalas will manage the investments from several private companies that will provide the capital to work on the Trans Sumatra Highway project.
Ahmad added that PT Andalas will also coordinate with all Regional Development Banks in Sumatra for obtaining low-interest loans to construct the highway.
Besides that, he reported that the company will seek loans from abroad with the government as the guarantor.
"Kadins idea to set up PT Andalas to carry out the Trans Sumatra Highway project will be proposed in front of the "All Sumatra Governors Forum" as a solution towards accomplishing the project," he noted.
Ahmad pointed out that the business community in Sumatra expects the project to take off in order to drive economic growth across the island.
"If the construction of the Trans Sumatra Highway fails, the business community will become pessimistic about their competitiveness in the ASEAN Economic Community 2015," he emphasized.
Meanwhile, South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin had earlier stated that he was disappointed with the central government, which is yet to issue a presidential regulation on the construction of Trans Sumatra Highway.
The governor noted that under the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesias Economic Development (MP3EI) program, the Trans Sumatra Highway was among the major infrastructure projects that the government is keen to implement.
"The Trans Sumatra Highway is projected to become a part of the Asian Highway Network as the main link of the Southeast Asian region," the governor claimed, adding that the project has been included in the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC).
According to Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa, the 2.7 thousand km highway will comprise of 23 sections, extending from the Aceh province to the Lampung province, including Batam.
"The construction work on the Medan-Binjai section needs to be given top priority and has to be completed on an urgent basis," the minister remarked sometime last year.
At that time, the other sections to be given priority were from Riau to Kualanamo and from Palembang to Lampung, he added.
On the occasion, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto stated that his party had conducted the feasibility study on the Trans Sumatra Highway.
"The feasibility study has been completed, and we have found that all the sections of the road are economically feasible, though not financially feasible," Djoko claimed.
Therefore, he has assigned state-owned enterprises to immediately start work on the first phase, which comprise the four sections that link Medan-Binjai, Pekabnaru-Dumai, Indralaya-Palembang, and Bakaheuni-Terbanggi, with an investment of over Rp31.5 trillion, but now it remains in limbo.
The minister has urged the local governments throughout Sumatra to accelerate the process of acquiring land for the Rp360 trillion-worth Trans Sumatra Highway project.
He emphasized that the preparation process for the freeway project was ongoing, although the presidential regulation (perpres) that provides assignment to a state-owned company has yet to be issued.
Djoko noted that generally with infrastructure projects, especially toll roads, there are always hurdles pertaining to land acquisition, thus this matter requires commitment from the local governments.
In reality, the governors and district heads across the Sumatra Island want this highway to be immediately built for accelerating the connectivity between production centers and boosting the regions economic growth.
The construction of the highway will be a boon to the island by providing alternatives for transportation of goods and people.
The Trans Sumatra Highway, which stretches from the Aceh province in the western tip of Sumatra to the Lampung province in the eastern section, can no longer handle the areas fast-growing transportation needs.
Therefore, the government has included the Trans Sumatra Toll Road project, apart from electricity and seaports development, in its Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesias Economic Development projects in Sumatra.
Scheduled for completion by 2025, the project is expected to help improve the flow of goods and transportation of the public, as well as help to generate economic development on the islands of Java and Sumatra. (*)
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
