The road rollout is central to the government’s ambitious plans for more than 400billion USD of building projects to modernise Indonesia under President Widodo,when he begins his second term this October.
The extensive sprawl of Indonesia, a nation dispersed across 17,000 islands, isa logistical nightmare and can send the cost of everyday items soaring andhampering development in hard-to-access locations. Therefore, the only way togenerate faster economic growth is through connectivity, Planning MinisterBambang Brodjonegoro said.
More than half of the new toll roads will be rolled out on Sumatra to connectthe two ends of the enormous island.
Apart from highways, the regulator is also studying the possibility of buildinga bridge from peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra, and a bridge connecting Singaporeto Bintan island. - VNA