Inaugurated By President Joko Widodo, PTPP's Toll Road Accelerates The Serang-Rangkasbitung Travel Time To Only 15 Minutes

The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, inaugurated the Serang Panimbang Toll Road. (Photo: Doc. PTPP)

JAKARTA - The state-owned construction company, PT PP (Persero) Tbk, today, Tuesday, November 16, attended the inauguration ceremony for the Serang Panimbang Toll Road, located in Banten Province. The inauguration ceremony was inaugurated directly by President Joko Widodo which was symbolically marked by the signing of the inscription.

The inauguration ceremony of the Serang Panimbang Toll Road was also attended by the Chairman of Commission V of the DPR RI Lasarus, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi.

Then, Banten Governor Wahidin Halim, Lebak Regent Iti Octavia Jayabaya, PTPP President Director Novel Arsyad, PTPP Infrastructure Operations Director Yul Ari Pramuraharjo, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk President Director, and other officials.

The Serang-Panimbang Toll Road is one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) carried out using the Government and Business Entity Cooperation (PPP) scheme. The Serang-Panimbang Toll Road has a road length from Serang City to Panimbang which is located in Pandeglang Regency as far as 83.67 kilometers.

This toll road will cross 3 (three) areas, namely: Serang, Lebak, and Pandeglang. In addition to improving connectivity, the purpose of the construction of this toll road is to develop the southern part of Banten Province and increase tourism potential in the Pandeglang-Lebak area including Tanjung Lesung.

The toll road which was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo today, is Section 1 of Serang-Rangkasbitung with a length of 26.5 kilometers where Section 1 connects Serang City with Lebak Regency. The Serang-Panimbang Toll Road will be directly connected to the Trans Java toll road network via the Tangerang-Merak Toll Road.

Meanwhile, Section 2 of the 24.17 kilometer Rangkasbitung-Cieleles section and 33 kilometers of Section 3 of the Cileles-Panimbang section are still in the construction process. The government targets the entire construction of the Serang-Panimbang toll road to be completed and operational by 2023.

In the construction of the Serang-Panimbang Toll Road, PTPP acts as a shareholder in a Joint Venture company named PT Wika Serang Panimbang. Within the company, PTPP synergizes with PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk and PT Jababeka Infrastruktur.

Apart from being a shareholder in the construction of the toll road, PTPP is also working on the construction of the Serang-Panimbang Toll Road Interchange. The Interchanges that PTPP has worked on include the Cikeusal Interchange with a length of 1,016 kilometers, the Lightning/Tunjung Teja Interchange with a length of 0.821 kilometers, and the Rangkasbiitung Interchange with a length of 1,253 kilometers.

"Today the Serang-Panimbang Section I toll road, Serang-Rangkasbitung section has been completed and is ready to operate. I believe this will be a lever for the economy of Banten Province, especially around this toll road, namely in Lebak and Pandeglang Regencies," said President Jokowi.

According to him, after the construction of the Serang-Panimbang Section 1 toll road is completed, it will continue with the construction of Section 2 of Rangkasbitung-Cileles along 24 kilometers and Cileles-Panimbang along 33 kilometers.

"God willing, this will be completed by the end of 2023," continued Jokowi.

In his remarks, President Joko Widodo said that infrastructure is the foundation for Indonesia to be ready to compete with other countries because what is being pursued is competitiveness. It is impossible for a country to surpass another country if its competitive index is lower

Without infrastructure, goods can have a higher price. But if the infrastructure is ready, goods will be distributed better and the price will be cheaper.

PTPP President Director Novel Arsyad hopes that the construction of the Serang-Panimbang Toll Road will create connectivity between regions and encourage economic growth in Banten Province.

"Through this toll road, the public can shorten the travel time from Serang to Rangkasbitung to only 15-20 minutes. In addition, the construction of the Serang-Panimbang Toll Road is carried out by the government to support the development of the Tanjung Lesung Tourism Special Economic Zone (SEZ) located in Banten Province. ," said Novel Arsyad.