President Joko Widodo (second left) waves alongside (from left) Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, First Lady Iriana and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno on Thursday (12/20/2018), as they pose for a group photo on Kalikutho Bridge, which connects the Central Java regencies of Batang and Kendal. The President inaugurated three remaining Trans-Java toll road sections connecting Merak, Banten to Grati Pasuruan ahead of the yearend holidays.
KENDAL, KOMPAS – The Trans-Java toll road is believed to encourage an economic boom in the regions. During major religious holidays, holidaymakers will drive the economy in areas where the toll road passes.
The Trans-Java toll road, connecting the regions between Merak, Banten and Surabaya, East Java, will attract holidaymakers during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holiday season. Holidaymakers will not only use the toll road, but also visit the regions it passes through on their holidays.
Outside peak seasons, the toll road will support the goods distribution and investment. It will boost tourism, industrial estates, investment and small and medium enterprises (SME) in the regions it passes.
President Joko Widodo on Thursday (12/20/2018) inaugurated four toll road sections in East Java and three sections in Central Java. Separate ceremonies was held at two locations: at the Bandar Interchange at Kilometer 671 in Jombang, East Java, and at Kalikuto Bridge at KM 393 in Kendal, Central Java.
The President reaffirmed that the toll road infrastructure, once complete, would boost regional economies. The mobility of goods and people would become easier, faster and cheaper. Thus, integrating the toll road with industrial areas, special economic zones and tourist destination was critical.
“In East Java, [traveling the] Surabaya-Ngawi [route] takes two hours, more or less. Many investors are looking at Ngawi. We have received a 20-hectare investment proposal. The East Java Governor said that there a request for 400 hectares had been made in Caruban, Madiun regency. In Nganjuk, it’s 200 hectares. With investments, we will create jobs,” he said.
Strengthening SMEs
President Jokowi said that the Trans-Java toll road would also drive the growth of local SMEs, as the toll road would facilitate and accelerate the supply of raw materials. Production would also become faster.
He continued that the original goal of constructing the toll road was to drive the growth of local SMEs. Toll road rest areas must be used to promote local SMEs. “If we have local brands, why use foreign ones?” the President said.
SME owner Nur Hidayaningrum, 30, from Magetan, East Java, said that she was happy she had gotten a stall at the KM 597 rest area in Madiun. Nur said she would use the stall to open a branch of her Sup Iga Mbak Ning restaurant, which sells beef rib soup, beef curry and chicken curry. “For the first year, the bank provides a subsidy and I can save Rp 17.5 million [US$1,208.05] per year in renting the stall,” she said.
Nur said that she hoped her new stall would boost her revenue and create jobs. She employs five workers at present.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno expressed her hope that the East Java economy would grow significantly following the Trans-Java toll road’s inauguration. The interconnectedness between Central and East Java would cut down travel times and increase fuel efficiency.
Traffic jams on major roads would also decline. “Regions with tollgates will blossom as business hubs, including trade and financial services. The toll road will also lead to growth in the property sector,” she said.
Peak of Christmas travel
The toll road will be open for public use on Friday. In the future, the Trans-Java toll road will be extended to Banyuwangi to total a span of 1,150 km.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the Trans-Java would offer an alternative route for motorists, who could choose between it and regular roads for traveling during the yearend holiday.
The Trans-Java toll road provides renewed hope for holidaymakers driving their own cars that they could avoid congestion on their holiday travels. Holidaymaker Philliphus Ergi Hanantyo, 23, said that he was enthusiastic about trying out the new toll road. In previous years, he used to spend from 13 to 26 hours traveling from Bogor to Yogyakarta along the North Coast Highway (Pantura).
“Hopefully, the Trans-Java toll road will cut down my travel time. Spending so many hours on the road can be exhausting. I’ve heard that several sections of the toll road will be free of charge during the Christmas and New Year holiday season,” Ergi said.
Operational director Subakti Syukur of state toll road operator PT Jasa Marga said that Christmas homebound traffic was expected to peak on Dec. 22. The volume of vehicles passing the Cikarang Utama tollgate towards Cikampek was expected to reach 85,000 per day.
This was a 33 percent increase from the regular volume of 63,968 vehicles per day, or a 1.01 percent increase compared to homebound traffic during the 2017 holiday season. “Starting on Friday, we will monitor the outbound and inbound traffic over this year’s Christmas and New Year holiday season,” he said.
To encourage utilizing the cashless toll road system, Jasa Marga will add six automatic tollgates (GTO) at the Cengkareng tollgate, bringing the total to 23. Jasa Marga will also operate 171 mobile card readers for paying the toll at several tollgates.
“To maintain smooth traffic, we will launch several measures, including regulating the operational hours for logistics transport, accelerating the response time for handling disruptions and monitoring the traffic load distribution,” he said.
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