TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of State-owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan said that the Trans Sumatra toll road mega project would be underway before the term of the Second United Indonesia Cabinet ends.

“The groundbreaking will be done on October 9, 2014 on the condition that the presidential regulation (regulating the project) is issued on July 21, 2014 at the latest,” Dahlan said on Saturday, July 12, 2014.

In the meantime,state-owned contractor PT Hutama Karya (Persero), which was appointed as to implement the project, is still waiting for the issuance of the presidential regulation. As of now, the presidential regulation is still being finalized by the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy.

"The Coordinating Ministry for the Economy wants to accelerate the whole process, we estimate that within 10 days, the presidential regulation will be issued,” he said.

In a meeting done on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, PT Hutama Karya explained in detail the plan of the implementation of the project.

In the meantime, Dahlan noted that all the plans have been completed and they are to be submitted to the Ministry of Public Works for approval. Several sections of the toll road that have been approved are among others Jalan Lampung, Jalan Palembang, Jalan Pekanbaru-Dumai, and Jalan Binjai-Medan.

In addition, land acquisition issue that once posed barriers to the project has been settled.

In the implementation of the project, Hutama Karya will get a loan worth Rp2 trillion from The State Investment Agency (PIP).

The loan from the bank makes up 30 to 40 percent and it includes involvement from several state-owned enterprises such as Jasa Marga, Semen Indonesia, and several regional governments in Sumatra.

For the first stage, a road that connects Palembang-Indralaya stretching 15 kilometers and a road that connect Medan and Binjai require Rp6 trillion.

Dahlan added that the whole project cannot be implemented at the same time; so it must be done gradually. He also said that the Trans Sumatra megaproject is expected to be completed in 16 months and once the project would increase the economic potential in Sumatra.

JAYADI SUPRIADIN