The Manado - Bitung toll road as long as 39.9 Km is targeted to operate in April 2020, providing support for industry and tourism in North Sulawesi
Manado - President Jokowi accompanied by Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) conducted a review of the construction of the Manado - Bitung Toll Road along 39.9 Km, on Friday (07/07/2019). The Manado - Bitung (Mabit) Toll Road was originally targeted to be completed by the end of 2019, but because the land acquisition process has not been completed for 13 Km, it is expected to be completed by April 2020.
President Jokowi said the presence of the Mabit Toll Road would support tourism and industry. New tourism on Pulau Lembeh and supporting industries, especially the fishing industry and the Bitung Special Economic Zone (KEK) as access to the Port. "This will trigger the economy in the growing Bitung region," President Jokowi said.
The construction of the Mabit Toll Road will not only support the easy access of goods and services to the Bitung International Port, which is one of the doors for export and import for eastern Indonesia, but also supports the tourism sector in North Sulawesi Province, especially on Lembeh Island.
PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said, the toll road is not only connected to ports and Bitung and Tanjung Pulisan SEZs - Likupang, but also as a supporter of Pulau Lembeh tourism area, which can be accessed through the port of Bitung.
"Access to support will be built in the form of a connecting bridge from Bitung Port to Pulau Lembeh with a length of about 1 Km with a budget requirement of Rp 500 billion to begin construction in 2020," said Minister Basuki.
Manado-Bitung Toll Road has two sections, namely Section 1 of the Manado-Sukur-Air Madidi Ring Road (14 Km) carried out by the Ministry of PUPR with Section 1A (7 Km) progress reaching 90.65% and targeted to be completed by October 2019 and Section 1B (7 Km) has been completed 100% and is targeted to operate in October 2019. Construction of the Manado-Bitung Toll Road is built under the scheme of the Government and Business Entity Cooperation (PPP) with a total investment value of Rp 6.19 trillion.
Government funding for the construction of Section 1 amounts to Rp 3 trillion, which is the government's support to increase the feasibility level of the Mabit toll road investment. While Section 2 Air Madidi - Bitung (25 Km) is carried out by PT Jasa Marga Toll Road (BUJT) Manado Bitung which is divided into Section 2A Air Madidi - Danowudu (11.5 Km) progress is 87.23% and Section 2B Danowudo - Bitung (13.5 Km) the progress is 19.37%. This toll road has five Interchange (SS), namely, SS Manado SS Air Madidi, SS Kauditan, SS Danowudu and SS Bitung.
The presence of the first toll road in North Sulawesi will cut Manado's travel time to Bitung and vice versa from now around 90-120 minutes, to around 30 minutes. In addition, it can also reduce the risk of traffic accidents on arterial roads that have begun to experience the density of vehicles.
