Suramadu bridge finishes in March

Steel Box Girder Erection (suramadu.com)

The government is determined to complete the long-awaited Suramadu bridge megaproject worth Rp 3 trillion (US$330 million) in March 2009, at the latest.

The 5.4-kilometer bridge connecting Surabaya in East Java and Bangkalan on Madura Island could start operation in April, acting East Java Governor Setya Purwoko said.

Setya said the government has agreed to seek an additional loan of Rp 83 billion from the Surabaya municipal administration and the Export-Import Bank of China.

The loan will be spent to complete the construction of the bridge's central span and approaches, which is part of the 15 percent of work still remaining to be completed on the project, and to appropriate the remaining plots of land for the access to the bridge both in Surabaya and Bangkalan.

For the time being, the provincial government and the East Java Development Bank (Bank Jatim) have agreed to pay in advance Rp 40 billion. The remaining Rp 43 billion would be provided by the China Bank, so that the suspended work for the central span and approaches could resume this week, he said.

"The additional loans will be disbursed only after the Ministry of Finance gives approval," said Setya after presiding over a special meeting with high-powered officials of the Ministry of Public Works, the state enterprises minister's office, the National Planning and Development Board (Bappenas), the East Java province, Surabaya municipality and Bangkalan regency here on Friday.

The bridge, to be the longest in the country and the icon of the province, will have two wide lanes in each direction plus a dedicated lane for motorcycles. It will take only about ten minutes to and from Surabaya, replacing the current crowded ferry transportation.

The bridge's construction was planned by former president B.J. Habibie when he was a research and technology minister under late president Soeharto's New Order regime and started in 2003 under the presidency of Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The megaproject's causeway on the Surabaya side is being built by PT Hutama Wijaya Agrabudi, a joint operation between state-owned PT Hutama Karya, PT Wijaya Karya and PT Agrabudi Karyamarga.

The construction of the Madura section of the causeway is being done by PT Adhi Waskita, a joint operation between state-owned PT Adhi Karya and PT Waskita Karya.

The central component, considered the vital stage, consists of the approach bridge and main span.

The main span's construction is being done by a consortium of Chinese contractors comprising China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC) and China Harbor Engineering Consultant (CHEC).

The approach bridge is being built by a consortium of Adhi Karya, Hutama Karya, Waskita Karya, Wijaya Karya and the Chinese contractors.

Responding to the increasing demand by locals for land appropriation for the project, Setya Purwoko asked the Bangkalan regent and the Surabaya mayor to apply a persuasive approach to land owners to release their land in accordance with the land tax nominal-based prices.

The bridge was constructed for the sake of all the people and not for business purposes like a toll road, he said.

"We have to buy the remaining plots of land, regardless of price, to meet the project's deadline," he said.

The Bangkalan regent reported that the regency administration would have to clear a 3,200 square meter plot of 600 hectares of land allocated for the project, while the Surabaya municipal administration has allocated Rp 11 billion to clear the remaining land for access to the bridge.

According to the plans of the Suramadu Territory Development Board, the provincial government is to build a container terminal and Islamic center on the Madura side, while there will be a 600-hectare site on the Surabaya side including a township with housing, business center, hotels, Islamic center and green spaces. (Ridwan Max Sijabat)

Sumber: The Jakarta Post, Mon, 09/08/2008