Announcement! Manado-Bitung Toll Road, Danowudu-Bitung Section, Operates Without Tariffs Starting Today

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Jasamarga Manado Bitung (JMB), a subsidiary of PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk, as the manager of the Manado-Bitung Toll Road, is ready to operate the Manado-Bitung Toll Road, the Danowudu-Bitung Section. The toll road will operate without tariffs starting today, Saturday 26 February.

As is known, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the completion of the construction of the Manado-Bitung Toll Road in Bitung City, North Sulawesi, after the completion of the Danowudu-Bitung section with a 13.5 kilometer (km) road segment, Friday afternoon, February 25.

PT JMB President Director Charles Lendra said that with the operation of the last section of this toll road, there will be an additional toll gate that will be operated, namely the Bitung Toll Gate (GT).

"The Manado-Bitung Toll Road, the Danowudu-Bitung Toll Road, will be operated without tariffs, starting Saturday (February 26, 2022) at 14.00 central Indonesia time," he said.

Charles said the free operation of the Manado-Bitung Toll Road, the Danowudu-Bitung section is a form of PT JMB's socialization to the public. However, Charles appealed to road users to still carry electronic money with sufficient balance before entering the toll gate.

"Considering that the Danowudu-Bitung section is operated at a zero rupiah tariff, if road users travel continuously from Bitung GT to Manado GT, they will still be charged a tariff equal to the tariff for the Danowudu-Manado section, which has already been in operation and has tariffs in September 2020," he said.

As a simulation, said Charles, road users with class 1 vehicles entering the Bitung GT heading to Manado will pay a fare of IDR 29,500 at the Manado GT exit.

"This mechanism also applies to the opposite direction," he said.

Charles also explained that road users will not be charged a tariff (zero rupiah) if they travel from GT Bitung to GT Danowudu or vice versa.

"The socialization period without tariffs will apply until the issuance of a Decree of the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing regarding the tariff for the Manado-Bitung Toll Road, the Danowudu-Bitung Section," he said.

Furthermore, Charles hopes that with the operation of the Danowudu-Bitung Section without tariffs during the socialization period, the existence of the Manado-Bitung Toll Road which has been fully operational can be utilized optimally by the people of North Sulawesi Province.

"Especially those who live in Manado City, Bitung City, and its surroundings, while still complying with applicable regulations and signs," he concluded.

As previously reported, PT Jasamarga Manado Bitung (JMB), a business group of PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk which manages the Manado Bitung Toll Road, has completed the construction of the final stage of the Manado Bitung toll road, namely Section 2B of the Danowudu-Bitung section with a length of 13.65 kilometres (Km) on February 21, 2022.

With the operation of the last section of the 39.9 km toll road section, the Manado-Bitung Toll Road is ready to fully operate. The completion of the construction of Section 2B of the Danowudu-Bitung Toll Road will complement the other three sections along the 26.35 Km which were already operated in 2020.