Three Strategic National Projects of Indonesia to Be Completed in 2019
The construction of three national strategic projects - worth a combined IDR 70 trillion (approx. USD $5 billion) - is targeted to be completed before the end of 2019. These three projects are: (1) the first phase of Jakarta's mass rapid transit (IDR 16 trillion), (2) the New Yogyakarta International airport (IDR 10.8 trillion), and (3) the Patimban seaport in Subang, West Java (IDR 43.2 trillion).
When an infrastructure project is labelled a 'national strategic project' it means the project is regarded a priority project that brings great benefit to the economy and society as a whole. The priority status further means that all ministers, government agencies and governors need to support the development of the project.
Patimban Seaport
Indonesia's Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the Patimban seaport is expected to start operations in December 2019. Currently, construction is mainly focused on the waterside. Karya emphasized that there are no obstacles and therefore he does not expect to see a delay.
The Patimban seaport is envisaged to become an international seaport with a 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) capacity, hence relieving busy traffic at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port (Indonesia's busiest port that handles around 65 percent of the nation's international trade). The Patimban seaport will particularly become an important port for incoming and outgoing shipments of cars. The seaport will be able to handle 600,000 vehicles per year in the first phase of the project.
MRT Project Jakarta
Meanwhile, at the end of March 2019, the new mass rapid transit (MRT) should start commercial operations in Jakarta. Starting from 26 February there will be a testing period (in which local people are invited to participate).
William Sabandar, President Director of MRT Jakarta, said completion of the first phase of the project has reached 98.58 percent.
New Yogyakarta International Airport
Development of a new IDR 10.8 trillion (approx. USD $771 million) airport in Yogyakarta - called New Yogyakarta International Airport or Kulon Progo Airport - is still going on schedule. Actually construction is ahead of schedule. While initially the project was planned to be completed in July 2020, operations are now expected to start much earlier. In April, when construction is targeted to be completed for 75 percent, international flights will start arriving at the new airport (while domestic flights will still go through the old Adisutjipto Airport). In 2020, the new airport will also handle the domestic flights.
Considering the New Yogyakarta International Airport is located near the Indian Ocean - in a region that is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire - there is always the risk of tsunamis. Therefore, the developers have taken into account this risk when designing the structures of the airport to mitigate the possible damage that is done by a tsunami.
Construction costs of the new airport are estimated at IDR 6.7 trillion, while funds that were needed to acquire the land reached IDR 4.1 trillion. Once finished, Kulon Progo Airport is capable of handling 14 million air passengers per year.
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