Workers finish off the construction of the Kualanamu toll gate in Beringin district, Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, Thursday (12/10). The 42-kilometer Kualanamu-Sei Rampah toll road is scheduled to be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo today. It is hoped that infrastructure improvement can support economic growth.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The official of numerous toll roads in North Sumatra can create the momentum to develop the local agricultural industry and cut travel times. However, real progress will only be achievable through access to electricity and a simplification of licensing procedures.
On Friday (13/10/2017), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo officially opened the 41.6-kilometer Kualanamu-Sei Rampah toll road, which is part of the Medan-Kualanamu-Tebing Tinggi toll road. The President also opened the 10.4-kilometer Helvetia-Semayang toll road, part of the Medan-Binjai toll road. State Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno and Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono attended the opening ceremony.
In his speech, the President said land acquisition had been completed for the Medan-Kualanamu-Tebing Tinggi toll road. Land acquisition for Section 1 of the Medan-Binjai toll road, however, was still ongoing under the coordination of the North Sumatra Police, the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Command, North Sumatra Prosecutors’ Office and the North Sumatra branch of the National Land Agency.
Security of Logistics
Business players in North Sumatra welcomed the launching of the Kualanamu-Sei Rampah toll road in the regencies of Deli Serdang and Serdang Bedagai. The toll road should reduce the cost and increase the security of logistics, help avoid illegal levies and cut travel times.
“This will accelerate the development of North Sumatra’s economic growth centers, such as the Lake Toba tourism area, the Sei Mangkei special economic zone in Simalungun regency and Kuala Tanjung Port in Batu Bara regency. The toll road will attract investors,” the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) head in North Sumatra, Parlindungan Purba, said on the sidelines of the toll road launching event.
The secretary of the North Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, Timbas Ginting, said road infrastructure improvements in the province would significantly boost the local palm oil industry, which was one of the province’s major drivers of economic growth.
Wahyu Aris Pratomo, who heads the Economic Development department at North Sumatra University’s (USU) School of Economy, said local industries, which had always been centered in Medan and Deli Serdang, could now expand to Binjai, Serdang Bedagai and Tebing Tinggi, thanks to the toll road. North Sumatra’s Bukit Barisan Highland Agropolis development program could be revived. “The program was halted because of infrastructure problems and energy scarcity, among other issues,” he said.
North Sumatra-Riau National Road Development Center head Paul Ames Halomoan Siahaan said construction of the 30-km Tebing Tinggi-Kuala Tanjung Port toll road, the 40-km Tebing Tinggi-Pematang Siantar toll road and the 50-km Pematang Siantar-Parapat toll road had begun. “The target is to complete all the projects in 2019,” Paul said.
USU School of Agriculture’s agribusiness lecturer Luhut Sihombing said he hoped the toll road would enable North Sumatra’s agricultural products to be brought from the highlands to seaports through the toll road in Tebing Tinggi. The seaports of Belawan and Kuala Tanjung could be used for this purpose, he said, adding that electricity supply was now good in North Sumatra.
Luhut added that, in 2008, buyers in Singapore had established a representative office in Simalungun to prepare for the agropolis program. However, the office was later closed down. The already developed cold storage could not function properly, due to the lack of electricity.
Affordable prices
Meanwhile, Wahyu said road tolls should be adjusted to local purchasing power, because toll roads were a long-term investment. “Locals should not use the toll road merely to try it once and then not use it anymore, as the fee is too high,” he said.
Apindo general secretary Sanny Iskandar urged toll road managers to implement an optimal traffic management system. “Requirements for the roadworthiness of vehicles on the toll road should be stricter to avoid accidents,” he said.
Timbas Ginting said the long travel time hindered the transportation of raw palm oil from factories to Belawan Port. Traveling the 105 km between Tebing Tinggi and Belawan can take five to six hours. “With the toll road in operation, the travel time can be around four hours. Once the toll road between Lubuk Pakam and Tanjung Morawa is complete, the travel time can be shortened further,” Timbas said.
It took Kompas 30 minutes to traverse the Kualanamu-Sei Rampah toll road at 80 km per hour. This was much faster than through regular roads, which can take up to two hours.
The toll road currently has six toll gates, including these at Kualanamu Airport, Kemiri and Lubuk Pakam in Deli Serdang regency. The other three toll gates are in Serdang Bedagai regency, namely in Perbaungan, Teluk Mengkudu and Sei Rampah. The fee is Rp 981 (US 7.3 cents) per kilometer for sedans and minibuses. For the longest distance from Kualanamu to Sei Rampah, people in sedans and minibuses will need to pay Rp 41,000.
Meanwhile, the Aceh administration is accelerating work on the toll road connecting Aceh Besar regency and Pidie regency in the province. “In a change from the original plan of doing it in February 2018, we will now do it in December 2017,” Deputy Aceh Governor Nova Iriansyah said in Banda Aceh.
Uneven electricity distribution
Meanwhile, in order to boost the local economy, the electricity capacity in Sumatra far exceeds peak demand. However, the electricity network is not yet fully developed, which is why the distribution of power remains uneven. Consequently, power outages still occur in several regions.
State-owned electricity company PLN spokesman I Made Suprateka said the electricity capacity in Sumatra was 13,000 megawatts, while peak demand was only 6,100 MW. North Sumatra alone had an electricity capacity of 1,900 MW and peak demand of 1,600 MW.
PLN Sumatra regional business director Wiluyo Kusdwiharto said a 2,258-km transmission line would be built this year.
