PENAJAM PASER UTARA – Minister of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono accompanied President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to inaugurate the repair of 10 roads and 1 bridge in East Kalimantan which were implemented through the Regional Road Presidential Instruction (IJD).
The inauguration was carried out on Friday (1/3) on the access road to Goa Batu Tourism – Tapak Raja in Sepaku Subdistrict, North Penajam Paser.
“Ten roads plus one bridge in East Kalimantan Province totalling 50.9 km have been built at a cost of Rp561 billion,” President Jokowi said.
Director General of Highways Hedy Rahadian said that the repair of 10 roads with a total length of 50.93 km and 1 bridge with a length of 20 meters in East Kalimantan is carried out entirely through the State Budget for the fiscal year 2023.
According to him, the regional roads are needed to support access to productive areas, including around IKN Nusantara.
“This road repairment is to support connectivity to productive areas, including the IKN and its surrounding areas,” said Hedy.
“These roads will make it easier for residents in this area to sell their plantation and agricultural products to IKN in order to support the economy of the local community,” he continued.
The ten roads that were repaired are Riko-Maridan Road and access road to Goa Batu Tourism-Tapak Raja in Penajam Paser Utara Regency, Loleng Road in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, Simpang Batu-Laburan Road in Paser Regency, Simpang Poros (Gas Station)-Tanjung Isuy- Tj. Jan-Pulau Lanting Road in Kutai Barat Regency, Proklamasi Road in Balikpapan City.
Then, the Kenyamukan Port access road in East Kutai Regency, Ir. Soekarno-Hatta-M. Roem-Urip Sumohardjo Road in Bontang City, Lenggo-Teluk Sulaiman Road in Berau Regency, and Long Hubung-Poros Road in Mahakam Hulu Regency.
Meanwhile, the bridge that was repaired is the access to Goa Batu-Tapak Raja tourism in Penajam Paser Utara Regency.
Nina, the owner of a grocery store located on the access road to Goa Batu Tourism – Tapak Raja, said that before the road was repaired, she often found it difficult to deliver her goods to shops in the area around Tapak Raja because the road was small, narrow, potholed, and slippery.
“After the road is good, Alhamdulillah, it has become smooth, it affects our income and the purchasing power of the residents here has increased,” she said.
“Thank you to the Ministry of PUPR for the equitable distribution of development to our village, we hope that this road can continue to be maintained,” she added.
The implementation of IJD refers to Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Acceleration of Regional Road Connectivity Improvement.
In Fiscal Year 2023, the Ministry of PUPR through the Directorate General of Highways allocated a budget of Rp14.6 trillion nationally for the handling of 2,873 km of regional roads throughout the country.
Accompanying Minister Basuki were Director General of Highways Hedy Rahadian, Head of the IKN Infrastructure Development Implementation Task Force Danis H Sumadilaga, and Head of BBPJN East Kalimantan Reiza Setiawan.
