JAKARTA - Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) Maruli Simanjuntak revealed that the construction of emergency bridges in the Aceh disaster area is still being carried out on a voluntary basis and still owes, while looking at Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa who was sitting next to him during the meeting of the Post-disaster Recovery Task Force of the Indonesian Parliament in Banda Aceh, quoted from the live broadcast of the Parliament TV, Tuesday (30/12/2025).
Maruli, who also served as the Head of the Bridge Improvement Task Force, explained that the construction of the bridge required a long phase, ranging from site surveys, determining the type of bridge, to the delivery of materials from Jakarta to Aceh, which were often hampered in the distribution route - even some were held up for a week.
"We decided that there are three types of bridges that will be built, namely Bailey, Armco, and pioneer or suspension bridges. Beyond that, we suggest that the Ministry of PU handle it because it is more complicated," said Maruli.
He said the TNI had deployed 22 Bailey bridges at various disaster points, plus 14 units from the Ministry of PU including Armco. KSAD said the total that had been prepared reached 39 units in Aceh, complete with equipment. In Aceh there was also an addition of 11 Bailey bridges that allowed them to be installed according to the survey results.
The procurement of Bailey, said Maruli, is not easy because global stocks are limited. Indonesia even has to collect supplies from several countries. For Armco, the factory's production is wholesale for acceleration.
However, in the midst of this acceleration, Maruli admitted that the financing system was not clear. "Until now we haven't understood the financial system. We are self-sufficient. It's still debt," he said.
"The children are just fed, that's good for the soldiers," said Maruli. However, Maruli emphasized that the TNI did not stop working. Surveys continue because the field conditions change - including the widening of the river - so the bridge design must be adjusted. He is optimistic that with the Armco which is considered effective and the addition of teams, the problem of emergency bridges in Aceh can be resolved in a few months.
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