Prone To Land Movement, Cisumdawu Toll Road Built Using EPS Geofoam Technology

Spokesperson for the Ministry of PUPR Endra S Atmawidjaja. (Photo: Maria Trisnawati/VOI)

JAKARTA - The construction of the Cipali-Sumedang-Dawuan (Cisumdawu) toll road which stretches along 61 kilometers using EPS geofoam technology.

Geofoam EPS is a light-weighted material that is commonly applied abroad, especially to deal with unstable soil layers.

"So there are indeed several areas that are prone to soil movement, causing piles that have the potential to landslide," said PUPR Ministry Spokesperson Endra S Atmawidjaja to the media after the inauguration of the Cisumdawu Toll Road, Sumedang, Tuesday, July 11.

He continued, this pile requires quite expensive construction costs, so the Ministry of PUPR chose to use this 'busa' technology to overcome soil movements at a cheaper rate.

"In terms of technology, this has also been tested with geofoam. So this geofoam is a lighter pile that is economically cheaper," he continued.

Furthermore, he added, with this technology, his party does not have to build a bridge that uses more drills and ultimately causes a lot of piles,

Regarding resilience, continued Endra, he ensured that the Ministry of PUPR had carried out protection down to the bottom of the construction layer.

"We have geofoam coated with geomembranes. After geomembran we add more with the wire press then we spray it with cement so that it forms a short grid (thin). That's what keeps the animals going inside," he explained.

Just so you know, the Cisumdawu Toll Road was built under a cooperation scheme between the government and business entities (KPBU) by costing Rp18.3 trillion of construction, which was financed Rp9.07 trillion by the government.

Regarding tariffs, Endra said the application of the tariff refers to the toll road entrepreneur's agreement (PPJT).

Although referring to the old PPJT, the tariff due to not being as expensive as the new generation of toll roads is relatively high.

However, said Endra, his party will still evaluate the amount of the tariff.

"What is clear is that he is not the same as the current generation toll road, which costs between Rp. 1,500 to Rp. 2,000. The tariff is Rp. 1,275 with a length of 61.6 kilos, it is still below Rp. 80,000. I think 61 km at a rate of Rp. 80,000 is still affordable (affordable)," explained Endra.