TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is determined to complete trans-Java toll road by the end of 2019. He is confident that the 1167 km toll road stretching from Merak to Banyuwangi will be completed on schedule.

Jokowi said that the trans-Java toll road is 50 percent complete. Some 516 km road sections are already in operation, 433 km are being constructed and 171 km are being prepared.

The President said that the toll road construction will be expedited to catch up to bring Indonesia’s infrastructure up to speed with the rest of the world. He said that Indonesia had already built the Jagorawi toll road in 1977 but is now behind other countries that have constructed thousands of kilometers toll road.

Jokowi added that infrastructure development is aimed at boosting Indonesia’s competitiveness. “If our infrastructure stock remains low, while others is high, we will lose the competition and our production cost will be more expensive.”

Therefore, he said, the development shall not stop due to technical or financing issues.

Jokowi is also aiming to inaugurate a toll road on a monthly basis. That includes Ngawi-Kertosono and Solo-Ngawi toll road.

NUR HADI