As part of the trans-Sumatra toll road project, President Jokowi inaugurated the operation of the 140.9 km Bakauheni- Terbanggi Besar toll road on Friday. The President aims to complete the whole project, which is expected to be 2,765 km in length by 2024. The long-awaited toll road is set to connect Lampung in the East of Sumatra to the Northern tip of the island in Aceh. The construction project is expected to reach a length of 350 km in June, approaching Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra.
In December 2018, the President also managed to officiate the construction of the Banda Aceh-Sigli toll road. Jokowi stated that by building more infrastructure, he aims to increase investment required by the province to create more jobs, which will in turn, accelerate the economic growth of the area.
Lampung Governor, M. Ridho Ficardo expressed his excitement for the project. “Today is a historical event due to the connection of the trans-Sumatra toll road with executive pier of the Bakauheni seaport. Hopefully, Sumatra will become a new economic growth center after Java,” Rudho mentioned.
Source: Tempo
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