Ministry of PUPR Continues Development of Indonesia-Malaysia Border Roads in North Kalimantan
Detiktoday.com – The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is gradually continuing to build a border road in the Province of North Kalimantan (Kaltara) along 966.59 Km. The development of road infrastructure aims to improve connectivity between regions or open access to isolated areas, as well as equitable distribution of development results outside Java, especially in border areas.
“This border road network is a strategic infrastructure for the Republic of Indonesia with a function as national defense and security and supports a new center of economic growth in the border region,” said PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono some time ago.
Overall, the border road in Kaltara along 966.59 Km consists of a parallel border road along 614.55 Km and border access 352.04 Km. Until the end of 2019, of the total remaining length of 80.8 Km, it has not yet been opened. In the Fiscal Year (TA) 2020, the Ministry of PUPR budgeted Rp. 231 billion for the construction of 8 border road sections and 3 border access sections in the Kaltara region.
For the construction of border roads that have been constructed are the Long Semamu Long Bawan 3 Road of 1.2 Km with a progress of 0.38%, the Long Semamu Long Bawan 4 Road of 1.8 Km of physical progress of 1.6% and the cost of Rp 20.9 billion , Long Boh Metulang Long Nawang Road with 3.5 Km progress is 37.12%, and Long Boh Metulang Long Nawang 2 Road is 2.5 Km with progress of 33.7%. Meanwhile, the remaining 4 sections are still in the preparation stage of the auction, namely 1.4 km along Malinau Semamu 1 Road, 2 Km Long Semamu Long Bawan Street, 2.1 Km Long Semamu Long Bawan Street, and 400 meters Long Nawang Road.
In addition to the border road, the TA TA 2020 budget of the Ministry of PUPR is also used to continue the construction of border access such as the Malinau Road Section – Long Semamu – Long Bawan – Long Midang (Indonesia) – Lawas (Sarawak, Malaysia) along 8.5 Km from a total length of 198.71 Km, Malinau Road Section – Mensalong – Tau Lumbis – Keningau (Sabah, Malaysia) 221.73 Km long, and Malinau – Langap Road Section – Long Kemuat – Long Nawang (Indonesia) – Sibu (Serawak, Malaysia) 6.4 km along of a total length of 443.43 Km.
Asphalting work is prioritized in areas that already have settlements or are densely populated and there are public facilities such as Puskesmas, markets, schools and government offices. While the use of the aggregate layer is used in areas that still need an increase in daily traffic (LHR).
The presence of the border road and border access is expected to open the isolation of the area which is very helpful for the people in the border region. Where basic goods will be obtained more easily and cheaply, so that it will reduce disparities between regions. With increasing community connectivity new logistical channels will be formed to support the growth of embryo growth centers.
