Indonesia begins preparations to build longest bridge
Posted on December 22, 2011, Thursday
JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has begun preparations for the long-awaited construction of the Sunda Strait bridge, the longest in the country, following the issuance of a presidential decree on the appointment of the developers for the US$11 billion dollar-project, Xinhua News quoted a Jakarta Post report here on Wednesday.
Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said that the presidential decree cleared the legal obstacle to the start of the construction of the 29-km bridge, linking Merak area of Banten province in the western part of Java Island with Lampung province, in the southern part of Sumatra Island.
Djoko said that his office and related parties were preparing the grand design for the project.
A consortium comprising Banten and Lampung administrations, along with private company PT Bangungraha Sejahtera Mulia, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop the bridge in October 2007. But no concrete action has been taken since then because the consortium required the President to issue a special decree on their appointment.
Previously, experts have warned the government to consider earthquake potential as a major element in the design of the bridge as it will be located near Mount Anak Krakatau, a highly active volcano region.
