Construction of Toll Road in Yogyakarta Being Reviewed, Says Minister
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan
In a press release received here on Thursday, Pandjaitan said he understood the concerns of Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X who had rejected the construction of toll roads in the city.
“We should also be concerned about the stability of the local economy. The World Bank and Gadjah Mada University will conduct a study on the construction of a toll road. The study is expected to give an insight into the plan,” Pandjaitan stated.
The governor of the special district of Yogyakarta has rejected any plan to build a toll road in the region over fears of it affecting the stability of the local economy.
“No toll road in Yogyakarta. It is not that it is disallowed, but the central government also agrees (that Yogyakarta does not need a toll road),” the Yogyakarta governor said at a meeting with the Gunung Kidul regent and a group of local people.
He said in 2019, a new international airport will become operational in Kulon Progo. The access road would be wide, with four lanes, but not a toll road.
He expressed hope that the Gunung Kidul district administration will soon hand over a program for development of infrastructure after the completion of the Kulon Progo airport.
“I will hold negotiations with the central government,” he noted.
Gunung Kidul Regent Badingah said more tourists are expected to visit the region following the construction of the new airport in Kulon Progo.
He sought the peoples support to accelerate the completion of the project.
Meanwhile, state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I is accelerating the construction of a new airport in Kulon Progo, Central Java, for completion in 2019 in an attempt to replace the overcrowded Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta.
The airport operator has completed the acquisition of half of the 645 hectares needed for the new airport, spending Rp2.1 trillion of the total purchasing budget worth Rp4.1 trillion, Angkasa Pura I Technical Director Polana B. Pramesti stated. (T/RS5/RS1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
