Businesspeople in Batam, Riau Islands, have called on the
government to implement the planned construction of railway and toll
roads, leading from industrial areas to ports, in anticipation of
worsening traffic congestion on the island.
Deputy chairman of
the local chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Kadin), Amat Tantoso, said it was necessary that the government carry
out the two infrastructure projects, which were planned long ago, in
order to help facilitate exports and imports on the island.
“The
government must construct the railway and toll roads immediately due to
the worsening traffic congestion on roads leading to industrial areas,
seaports and Hang Nadim International Airport,” he told The Jakarta Post
on Sunday.
He said many investors had begun to complain about
the worsening traffic, which has slowed down transportation to and from
the ports, causing them to pay additional costs.
“These two major
projects should be started now as they will take a long time to
complete. Once the projects begin, more investors will be encouraged to
invest in the island in the future because of the improved
infrastructure,” he said, adding that if the government was serious,
many foreign investors were interested in investing in the projects.
The
Directorate General for Railways and the Batam Industrial Zone
Authority (BPK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January
2012 on the construction of a railway network. Moreover, local
authorities have completed a basic design for the project, which is
worth Rp 2.4 trillion (US$251.44 million). The government has set time
lines for the establishment of a team to handle the projects, land
appropriation, tenders and construction, with a target date for the
railway to be operational in 2017.
According to the master plan
drawn up by the municipal administration, three lengths of railway with a
total distance of 60 kilometers will be constructed to connect Batu
Ampar with Batu Aji (27.5 kilometers); Sekupang with Batam Center (16.4
kilometers) and Batam Center with Nongsa (16.3 kilometers).
In
front of an audience of 24 foreign ambassadors, who visited Batam on
Sept. 8, the BPK also confirmed the planned construction of a
24-kilometer toll road connecting Batu Ampar seaport with the airport
and the Muka Kuning industrial estate.
The foreign diplomats were
in Batam to attend the Riau Island Diplomatic Tour, which was organized
by the local government to attract foreign investment.
Head of
the BPK, Mustofa Wijaya, said the government had no other alternative
but to follow through on its plan to construct the railway and toll
road, warning it would be too late, however, if the government waited
until Batam’s traffic jams became a serious problem.
“Local
authorities should anticipate the demographic explosion and the rapidly
increasing number of vehicles on the island. Batam desperately needs
other modes of transportation, such as trains. Besides, the government
should offer alternative, rapid forms of transportation to the locals —
and investors,” he said, adding that the projects had originally been
planned in 1990 but were later suspended due to the global economic
downturn that hit Indonesia and other Asian states.
Mustofa said
that in carrying out the infrastructure projects, neither the local
government nor investors would encounter disputes over land
appropriation, as have occurred in other provinces, because the use of
land on the island was determined according to utility, not ownership.
“Consequently, there will be no landowners or land speculators in any land acquisition process,” he said.
He
added that if the trains and toll road began operating in 2017, traffic
congestion would no longer be a serious obstacle to importers and
exporters. Also, he continued, more investors were expected to look to
Batam due to the island’s strategic position, being in close proximity
to both Singapore and Malaysia, and facing the Malacca Strait.
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