President Jokowi Inaugurates Cipali Toll Road In Memory Of Today, 13 June 2015

President Jokowi inaugurated the Cipali toll road which became a memory today on June 13, 2015. (Dok. Setkab)

JAKARTA – In memory today, seven years ago, June 13 2015, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the Cikopo - Palimanan (Cipali) Toll Road. The inauguration of the Cipali Toll Road brings a lot of hope. Among other things, the freeway can cut travel time. Although the construction is a bit late.

The Cipali Toll Road has actually been designed since the New Order. However, the dream of owning the Cipali Toll Road must be dashed. The presence of an economic recession is a calamity that is not taken into account. Its development was stalled for a long time.

The economic recession is the problem the world is most afraid of. Indonesia, one of them. Indonesia's existence in the world map can fall instantly. Even the presence of a recession can bring downfall for anyone who has ever been in leadership. Suharto never felt it.

The New Order regime fell due to the 1997-1998 economic recession. The state of the Indonesian economy, which was in disarray due to the recession, had an impact on all sectors. Unemployment increases. Likewise, national companies are threatened with bankruptcy.

Cikopo Gate which is the beginning of the Cipali Toll Road. The Cikopo Gate is currently no longer functioning. (Wikimedia Commons)

The recession then had a direct impact on the national development agenda. All kinds of flagship projects have stalled. The construction of the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) Toll Road which had been designed and planned since the 1990s was affected. That period was really painful. But even more painfully, there was no national leader who continued the Cipali project after Suharto.

The construction of the toll road was not guaranteed, even after four different presidential administrations after Suharto. The Cipali toll road was only seriously discussed when President Jokowi was present at the helm.

“The Cipali Toll Road was designed and built by passing 6 republican leaders since Suharto became president. For years the toll road has been idle, and the right to manage it has passed from one hand to another, involving complicated business and political matters.”

“As a result, the country's long-standing dream to have a toll road that connects the most densely populated islands in Indonesia, from the west to the east, has not materialized. Every year, people are tormented when entering the Eid season and the mass holiday season. People practically have no idea when that dream will come true,” said Alois Wisnuhardana in the book Stories from the corner of the Palace (2019).

One of the sections of the Cipali toll road near the Kalijati exit in Subang Regency, West Java. (Wikimedia Commons)

The long wait is finally over. The toll road connecting Cikopo in Purwakarta, West Java and Palimanan, Cirebon, West Java has been completed. The construction of the Cipali toll road is a continuation of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road project which is part of the Jakarta-Palimanan toll road project. The toll road has a trajectory of up to 116 kilometers.

President Jokowi immediately inaugurated the Cipali Toll Road on June 13, 2015. Jokowi hopes that the presence of the Cipali Toll Road can provide added value for the country. Even the presence of Cipali can trigger an increase in the local economy.

"According to the schedule, last Saturday, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) toll road, which was prepared to facilitate the flow of homecoming for Eid. The Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, had stated that the plan would be reversed from the original plan, but was later corrected. Basuki revealed that at the direction of the President, after the inauguration, this toll road will be used immediately," wrote Tempo Magazine's report entitled Cipali Toll Road Opened (2015).