Homecoming Evaluation Meeting With Jokowi, Minister Of Transportation Budi Karya Says The Government Will Add 10 Rest Areas

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said the government would add 10 rest areas or rest areas on the homecoming land route to make it easier for travelers to rest while traveling.

The plan to add a rest area was brought up during the 2022 Homecoming Limited Evaluation Meeting, which was chaired by President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 24.

"Earlier, the President also noted that this is a part that must be evaluated, therefore in detail we will ask the developer to provide at least 10 rest areas, with a quantity and quality qualification that is better than now," said Budi Karya in a statement in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, May 24.

According to the Minister of Transportation, the 10 rest areas do not provide returns or profits in the short term, so he proposed to the Minister of PUPR that the rest areas become landbanks. "If the developer doesn't want it, we can give it to the private sector to invest there," he said.

The new rest area points for the initial stage are proposed to be built on the Jakarta to Semarang land route. Because based on monitoring, the Jakarta-Semarang homecoming land route and vice versa still has a lot of vacant land.

"If the acquisition is carried out, it will definitely provide benefits for the developer. It will later become a profitable property integrated into the toll road," he said.

The Minister of Transportation also said that when talking about property, toll roads cannot be separated from rest areas in which there is a commercial business space. This makes it possible to provide benefits while providing services to the community.

"So that people come, say to the Cirebon area, they can go to Cirebon but there is a rest area that also reflects the character of Cirebon. Then Brebes, Tegal, and so on. So we convey this and the President also conveyed that this is a concern," explained the Minister of Transportation.

In addition to rest area matters, an evaluation on the homecoming land route is carried out regarding the accumulation of vehicles on the Cipularang and Jabodetabek toll roads. To overcome this in the future, the government will conduct an earlier simulation.

The government will also extend the distance for contra flow or one-way vehicles on toll roads with additional infrastructure support.

The Minister of Transportation said that the homecoming land route is a very massive route to use, because as many as 47 percent of homecomers use private vehicles by land, so a detailed evaluation is needed.

In addition to evaluating land routes for going home, the government also evaluates sea, rail and air routes.