TEMPO.CO, Cikopo - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that the government must address issues with toll road constructions in Indonesia, particularly in terms of land acquisition.

“It took six years to acquire the land for Cikopo-Palimanan toll road, and the construction took 2.5 years. There’s something wrong with the regulation,” Jokowi said during the inauguration of the longest toll road In Indonesia, Cikopo-Palimanan, at Cikopo tollgate on Saturday, June 13, 2015.

According to Jokowi, the land acquisition should not take such a long time. Jokowi asserted that he would not hesitate to amend the regulation to support the development. He also instructed Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Ferry Mursyidan Baldan not let such an issue to recur in the future.

“We drafted the regulation. So don’t let it hamper our effort [to accelerate developments]. This kind of error must be addressed,” Jokowi said.

The Cikopo-Palimanan toll road is aimed to make the distance between Cikampek-Palimanan to be shorter by 40 kilometers than via the North Coastal Highway (Pantura). It would only take 1.5 to 2 hours to travel from one area to another.

TIKA PRIMANDARI