Skip to main content

Indonesia’s Trans-Sumatra highway inches ahead

Indonesia will form a consortium of state enterprises to build all the 2,700km of the Trans-Sumatra toll highway, from Lampung to Aceh on the island of Sumatra. The finance department is also setting up special infrastructure banks to provide flexible loans for the state departments to fund the project, Indonesian media reported. Indonesia recently changed the law that had the state infrastructure company PT Hutama Karya as the only organisation allowed to build major projects. Other state enterprises can n
March 11, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSIndonesia will form a consortium of state enterprises to build all the 2,700km of the Trans-Sumatra toll highway, from Lampung to Aceh on the island of Sumatra.

The finance department is also setting up special infrastructure banks to provide flexible loans for the state departments to fund the project, Indonesian media reported.

Indonesia recently changed the law that had the state infrastructure company PT 5206 Hutama Karya as the only organisation allowed to build major projects. Other state enterprises can now invest in such projects as part of a strategy to accelerate the construction.

However, an economic and financial feasibility study is yet to be completed for the project that could cost as much as US$23 billion, said public works minister Basuki Hadimujono.

A 2k stretch is already under construction and the government hopes a 16km route around the North Sumatra provincial capital Medan will be open next year.

Sumatra is the largest island that is entirely in Indonesia and the sixth largest island in the world at 480,847.74 km2. More than 50 million people live on Sumatra, including 4.3 million living in and around Medan.

The announcements come just after the central government cancelled what would have been one of the country’s largest ever infrastructure projects, the Sunda Strait Bridge.

The 30km bridge that would have connected the islands of Sumatra and Java at a cost of around $23 billion. The structure -- a dream of Indonesia's political elite since the 1960s -- was to have three lanes of traffic in each direction, twin rail tracks and cabling for telecommunications and electricity.

But in November, President Joko Widodo, recently elected at the time, dumped the megaproject, saying it would benefit only middle class Indonesians. Instead, other options, including buying more ferry ships and upgrading shipping freight ports, will be explored to better connect the two islands.

The proposed bridge was part of the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development formulated by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Howwever, it was left in limbo due to divided opinion among his ministers, especially on how the project should be funded by public and private investors.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Indonesia’s Trans-Papua road gets priority to support National Games
    May 14, 2015
    Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo has vowed to complete the Trans-Papua Highway by 2019, two years later than previously scheduled. Work on the seven-year old project has been dogged by difficulties, including transporting construction equipment and material around the mountainous province on the island of New Guinea, the Jakarta Post newspaper reported The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing said it will spend around $4.36 billion this year on infrastructure nationally. This will include reha
  • Indonesia claims massive bridge project viable
    May 27, 2014
    Construction of a 30km bridge spanning Indonesia’s Sunda Strait would be viable according to Graha Banten Lampung Sejahtera, the consortium tasked with the project. Indonesia’s Public Works Ministry previously said the project was not feasible. Building the 30km Sunda Strait Bridge could cost US$23 billion. The structure would be designed to carry three lanes of traffic in either direction, twin rail tracks and utilities cabling for telecommunications and electricity. Although the high cost of the bridge it
  • Mega project for Indonesia
    March 22, 2012
    The Indonesian Government has handed out contracts for the new Sunda Strait Bridge. Construction of the US$11 billion project is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2014.
  • Key Indonesian highway/bridge projects moving forward with funding
    August 14, 2014
    Infrastructure in Indonesia looks set to benefit from a series of a key highway and bridge projects, now gathering momentum. The country’s State Enterprises Ministry has announced plans for new road building worth a colossal US$25.66 billion. Work on a key highway stretch will commence in September 2014. This highway will connect provinces across the island of Sumatra, with the project looking set to be handled by the state-run firm Hutama Karya. The Indonesian Government has granted Bengkulu $1.22 billion