The Government Has A Fund Of IDR 32 Trillion To Fix Damaged Roads In Regions

JAKARTA - The government has prepared a total budget of IDR 32 trillion to repair regional roads in districts, cities and provinces in order to improve connectivity.

Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas Suharso Monoarfa in the State Palace area, Jakarta, Wednesday, January 25, said that according to the target in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), the government wants to increase the percentage of regional roads throughout Indonesia with stable conditions to 65 percent from currently only 42 percent.

"We know that the current data from about 480 thousand kilometers of regencies and cities throughout Indonesia, the steady situation is only 42 percent and in the RPJMN, at least we want to reach 65 percent and 65 percent of that is certainly not only a regional burden, but also a burden for us together," he said, quoted from Antara.

Suharso said Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) would issue Presidential Instruction (Inpres) related to the construction and repair of regional roads in all regencies, cities and provinces.

"It has been decided that there will be an Instruction for regional roads whose roads will certainly be decided together," he said.

President Jokowi has also ordered the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) to become the leading sector in the construction and maintenance of roads in the regions.

According to Suharso, in the early stages, the central government will help repair the 9 thousand-kilometer (km) regional road.

"We will start by helping about nine thousand kilometers of the proposed about 32 thousand kilometers, but we certainly have the reacity criterion tested and so on," said Suharso.

PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono on the same occasion, said the Presidential Instruction regarding the improvement of regional roads was intended so that the central government could build local governments to launch connectivity.

"That's because it's not handled properly because the budget, not because there are no priorities, but indeed the budget is expensive, the regency city is limited. This is what the President wants so that we can help speed up the improvement of regional roads through this Presidential Instruction," said Basuki.