TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo today, Sept. 29, inaugurated the first toll road in North Sulawesi province, Manado-Danowudu toll road. The highway will shorten the travel time from Manado to Bitung and vice versa.

“It (travel time) usually takes 1.5 hours, now it is only half an hour,” said the President in the virtual inauguration of the toll road from Bogor Presidential Palace.

According to Jokowi, the fully-completed construction of the toll road connecting Manado to Bitung will support business activities and ease public transportation. The entire segment will reach 40 kilometers, he added.

“The toll gate is only nine kilometers or about 12 minutes from Sam Ratulangi Airport, so it is very close,” he said.

The construction project was funded by using the state budget and from state-owned firm PT Jasa Marga under the government-to-business (KPBU) financing scheme totaling Rp5.12 trillion.

The Manado-Bitung toll road, which consists of two sections (14-kilometer-long Manado-Airmadidi and 25-kilometer-long Airmadidi-Bitung), will be operated gradually.

The Manado-Bitung toll road will later have five toll gates (GT), namely Manado GT, Airmadidi GT, Kauditan GT, Danowudu GT, and Bitung GT, and be equipped with two rest areas.

Read: Ministry Fast-tracks 8 Toll Roads Construction

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