In The Last 4 Years, The Construction Of The Trans Sumatra Toll Road Has Soared Significantly

Photo: Doc. Hutama Karya

JAKARTA - Even a decade, PT Hutama Karya (Persero) (Hutama Karya) received an assignment from the government to build the Trans Sumatra Toll Road (JTTS) in order to realize fair development for the people of Indonesia.

Currently, Hutama Karya has built approximately 1,021.5 km of toll roads, and connected almost all areas in Sumatra, starting from Lampung - Aceh (backbone), fins (feeders) from East - West and vice versa including Palembang - Bengkulu, Pekanbaru - Padang, and from Medan - Pematang Siantar with a total length of 681 km of toll roads that have been operating.

The development of JTTS which has become increasingly progressive over the past 4 (four) years cannot be separated from the support of the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) as shareholders in synergy with the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR). The Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir, explained that infrastructure improvement plays an important role so that Indonesia is able to compete with other countries, because currently logistics costs are higher than the world average which reaches up to 23 percent.

"The growth in infrastructure progress is the fruit of the synergy of many parties, including the Ministry, one of which is intensely overseeing the progress of JTTS development together with the Minister of PUPR, Basuki Hadimuljono," he said, Monday, January 23, 2023.

Executive Vice President (EVP) Corporate Secretary Tjahjo Purnomo explained that the presence of JTTS has a multiplier effect on Sumatra, this can be seen from the emergence of a new economy in a number of areas.

"Seperti contoh di Lampung atau Palembang, kenaikan pemanfaatan penggunaan listrik dan juga meningkatnya jumlah uang yang beredar menjadi salah satu bukti dalam meningkatnya pertumbuhan (ekonomi) itu," ujarnya.

Not only that, the traffic density that often occurs on National Roads or the Sumatra Cross Road is also an urgent reason for barrier-free connectivity that can facilitate the distribution of goods and vehicles, so as to effectively cut logistics costs.

The amount of benefits felt by the community gives hope that the entire Sumatra region can be connected to JTTS immediately. Towards the end of the year, Hutama Karya targets the completion of 13 JTTS stages I sections, and starting with the construction of JTTS phase II, namely the Betung - Jambi Toll Road section 3 Bayung Lencir - Tempino along 34 km with a construction support scheme and the Pekanbaru Ring Road (30.5 km).

To note, Hutama Karya has again added a long row of operational toll roads such as the Indralaya - Prabumulih (64 km) Toll Road, and South Sumatra and the Stabat - Kuala Bingai (7.5 km) Toll Road in North Sumatra. The two toll roads have not been set for tariff, so they can be enjoyed for free by toll road users.

Economic and Business Expert Prof Rhenald Kasali at the Hub Talks event entitled "Indonesian Transportation Transformation" at Hub Space 2023, on Friday, September 29, explained that from an economic point of view, at that time many considered that the construction of JTTS was not yet time.

"But when carrying out economic development, it is not just functional. There are other aspects, namely justice, equity. Are you a Lampung person, Palembang, Bengkulu not feeling why only Java Island is all built, it's a sense of injustice. So this relationship is indeed important," said Rhenald.

A truck driver named Riu (40 Years old) who was met while resting around the Kramat Jati Main Market, East Jakarta, on Sunday, October 1, told about his journey to bring Sayur by using JTTS.

"Before there is a toll road, I can take 2-3 days to bring merchandise. It's good for toll roads, if from Jakarta to Palembang it only takes about 1 day from Jakarta to Palembang, so we drivers have a certain time, the term is we make a profit. time is and also safe, "said Riu.

Furthermore, he added that before the toll road, the vegetables that were transported were often not fresh, thus swallowing quite a lot of losses due to the various obstacles he encountered on the way. Meanwhile, during the activity of increasing MSME capacity carried out by Hutama Karya Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) at Rest Area 215 B Terpeka, a trader named Lis (35 Years), expressed his appreciation to Hutama Karya for providing space to improve the competence of traders selling in rest areas.

"Through this training, it is hoped that it can develop more advanced, because this toll road is increasingly crowded, of course, here (rest area) is getting crowded," said Lis.

Hingga saat ini, Hutama Karya telah membangun Jalan Tol Trans Sumatra (JTTS) sepanjang uhu1.021,5 km, termasuk dengan jalan tol dukungan konstruksi 347,5 km dan 681 km ruas tola Operasi. Adapun ruas yang telah beroperasi secara penuh di antaranya yakka Tol Bakauheni - Terbanggi Besar (141 km), Tol Terbanggi Besar - Pematang - Kayu Agung (189 km), Tol Palembang - Indralaya (22 km), Tol Medan Binjai (17 km), Tol Pekanbaru - Dumai (132 km), Tol Sigli Banda Aceh Seksi 2-6 (50 km) serta Tol Binjai - Langsa Seksi 1 (12 km), Tol Bengkulu - Taba Penanjung (18) dan Tol Pekanbaru - Bangkinang (31 km), Tol Indralaya - Prabumulih (64 km), dan Tol Binjai - Langsa Segmen Binjai - Stabat (7,5 km).