The Construction of the West Kalimantan Border Parallel Road Has Been Through Throughout 811 Km

Detiktoday.com – The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) through the Directorate General of Highways gradually continues to build a parallel road between the Indonesia-Malaysia border in West Kalimantan (Kalbar) Province. The construction of border roads is in line with President Joko Widodo’s Government program to develop Indonesia from the periphery by strengthening regions and villages within the framework of a unitary state and opening isolated areas, reducing costly fees and improving the quality of life of the people.

PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the construction of border roads has a strategic value because in addition to the national defense and security function, it also opens and grows the economy of the border region. “The development of the border region is not only for the hero but to meet the needs of the border community by creating a new growth center embryo in the border region,” said PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono some time ago.

The Kalbar border parallel road has a length of 811.32 km which is divided into two, namely 607.81 km with non-national road status and 203.51 km of national road. As of July 2020, the 811.32 km parallel road has completely penetrated from Temajok to the West Kalimantan / East Kalimantan Provincial Limits.

On average all roads have a width of at least 6 meters and the space owned by the road (Rumija) is between 15 – 25 meters. Of all the roads that have been penetrated, the condition is now asphalted along 318.89 Km (39.30%), the aggregate layer is 195.96 km (24.15%), and is still in the form of pavement 296.47 km (36.54%).

In 2020, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing through the Directorate General of Highways carried out relaxation / refocusing of the budget ceiling so that available Rp. 247 billion was used for the construction of the 5.8 km Temajuk – Aruk Section, the surface layer work for the Aruk Section – Siding / Seluas Sub-District along 6.8 km, construction The Siding / Seluas Subdistrict Border Road Section – the Sekayan / Entikong District Boundary along 5.6 km.

Then the construction of the 4.7 km Kapuas Hulu / Sintang – Nanga Badau Border Road, the 6.4 km Nanga Era – East Kalimantan Section, and the routine maintenance of the Temajuk – Nanga Badau and Nanga Era – East Kalimantan Bounds along 471.9 km. In addition, three bridges were also built, namely in the Siding / Seluas – Sekayan / Entikong Subdistrict Border Roads (300 meters), Entikong – Rasau – Badau Roads (859 meters), and the Nanga Era – Kaltim Road Strait Bridge 390 meters).

Head of West Kalimantan National Road Implementation Agency (BPJN) Directorate General of Highways of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Herlan Hutagaol, said that all sections that were still in the form of forests from Temajok – Aruk – Badau – Putusibau – Naga Era – East Kalimantan Boundaries had been opened by Zeni TNI Army.

“But there are still road bodies in several sections that have been opened by the TNI, which still do not meet the gradual requirements, so that they need to improve alignment both vertically and horizontally. So we will gradually improve the conditions according to the maximum slope for national roads,” Herlan said.

Besides still needing improvement in the quality of road conditions, Herlan added that there are currently 21 bridges spanning 20 meters to 80 meters in length with a total length of 845 meters that has not been handled and costs around Rp 303.4 billion. “It is estimated that in 2024 all bridges have been completed and functional roads can run smoothly,” Herlan said.

Overall, the budget requirement for the process of asphalting and geometric repair of the Kalbar border parallel road until the end of 2024 (functionally passed by a four-wheeled vehicle) is estimated at Rp 3.5 trillion, including for bridge construction. As for the completion of the asphalt (black top) until the end of 2026 on the Nanga Era – Kalimantan Timur road section it will cost Rp 4.5 trillion.

“At present there has been a movement towards Temajok tourist attractions, if previously Indonesians had visited Malaysia, now many Malaysians had traveled to Indonesia. In the past, Indonesians on the border used to walk for days and ride shopping motorbikes to Malaysia, now it has been shopping to the nearest capital city or village because there are already many shops, “Herlan said.