Thread: New toll road to be built in 14 months

A landmark toll road project started on Wednesday in southern Bali with the government aiming to complete the project within a record 14 months.

“If we can finish it in 14 months, that would be fantastic. The Surabaya toll road of an equal length took 12 years to complete,” Minister of State Enterprises Dahlan Iskan said during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The Rp 2.4 trillion ($264 million) project is handled by a consortium of state-owned enterprises, including toll operator Jasamarga, which will shoulder 60 percent of the cost.

The 12-kilometer toll road is set to completed by May 2013, before the APEC Summit. Several international events will follow, including the Bali Summer Summit later in 2013 and the Asean Free Trade Area in 2015.

....

He promised the Bali road would have the best view of all the toll roads in the country.

“The toll road will offer the experience of driving above the seaside with the green mangrove view outside,” Tito said, adding the project allocated Rp 2 billion to restore any mangrove forests damaged during construction.

The road will connect South Denpasar to Nusa Dua via Serangan and Benoa and have a special lane for motorcycles to help ease traffic congestion on the island.



We Can Build New Bali Toll Road in 14 Months: Dahlan | The Jakarta Globe

I recently read in The Bali Times that the project had "funding problems".

The original cost was estimated at Rp 5.5 trillion (USD 600+ million). It seems that the "private investors" either didn't come to the party or got cold (not wet) feet.

Not a insurmountable problem, according to Pak Widayatin, the deputy minister for infrastructure and logistics at the State Enterprises Ministry.

"Widayatin said that costs had been drastically cut by plotting the entire route of the road above water, meaning that the project no longer depended on expensive and time-consuming land acquisition."

(source: The Bali Times)

The new cost? Only Rp 2 trillion. How about that for a serious "discount"?

We can only wonder about exactly what has been cut (land acqusition costs aside). The road might have to be built even higher so that subsistence fishing communities in the area can get their boats under it without breaking their masts off.
Yeah - right. Maybe there will be a draw-bridge somewhere along the line which will definitely help traffic flow.

No doubt, the potential environmental impact on the mangroves has been thoroughly investigated. All the new traffic and increased pollution will do wonders for the mangroves. (The proposed ban on smoking might help if it includes "no smoking near, above or next-to mangroves".)

Pak Suardana, (from Walhi - the NGO Indonesian Forum for the Environment), says it all when he points out:

"...claims that the toll road would cure Bali’s chronic traffic problems were flawed...It will just move traffic jams elsewhere. Bali needs regulations to promote public transportation and limit private vehicle ownership..."

Sit back and watch the next "planning" debacle in action.
Oh, and there's still the Sampan Siur "underpass" disasterpiece about to begin. "Silly Season" indeed.

Traffic planning in Bali....yeah right