North Bengkulu, ABIM (22/7/2023) – On Friday (7/21) the handling of regional roads in Bengkulu Province was observed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono as they continued their working visit. In Gardu Village, North Bengkulu Regency, the Kerkap-Tanjung Agung Palik-Gunung Selan-Girimulya Road is the part of damaged road that is being examined.

President Jokowi stated that Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 3 of 2023 concerning the Acceleration of Increasing Regional Road Connectivity is a financial tool sourced from the State Budget to improve the condition of regional roads in Bengkulu, specifically provincial and regency/city roads with 40% of them damaged.

“The Central Government is intervening in this matter through the PUPR Ministry.” There are eight parts in Bengkulu Province that are being addressed through the Presidential Instruction, but we are still in the process. It is very likely that it will rise. “We hope that (regional road management) will begin in all provinces in Indonesia by the end of July 2023,” President Jokowi stated.

According to Minister Basuki, road repairs in our area will begin in the third week of July 2023. “Through state budget assistance, the Presidential Instruction on Regional Roads aims to deal with damaged non-national roads and increase the stability of regional roads throughout Indonesia.” This month, we began in Bengkulu and 12 other provinces at the same time, including Lampung, Jambi, North Sumatra, and West Java,” Minister Basuki stated.

Director of Preservation for Region 1 Roads and Bridges of the Directorate General of Bina Marga of the PUPR Ministry, Nyoman Suaryana, said that the DIPA for Jalan Presidential Instruction No. 3 of 2023 had been published on July 11, 2023. “Then we immediately conducted an auction/procurement using e-catalog. As of today, July 20, 2023, 24 work packages have been contracted with a value of around Rp. 1 trillion more throughout Indonesia from a total budget of Rp. 7.4 trillion for phase 1,” Nyoman said.

Nyoman said, all 229 packages are expected to be contracted and ready for work by the end of July 2023. “The goal is to complete everything by the end of 2023, except for one package in Central Java with a multi-year contract until 2024, namely on Jalan Tambakmulyo,” he stated.

Head of the Bengkulu National Road Implementation Agency (BPJN) Aryatno Sihombing said, the 58.4 km Kerkap-Tanjung Agung Palik-Gunung Selan-Girimulya Road Section is one of the sections handled through the Regional Roads Instruction in Bengkulu in the 2023 FY with a budget of IDR 41.44 billion.

“This section is crucial for the transportation of plantation and agricultural products.” The implementation period runs from July 18, 2023 through December 31, 2023. “PT Rodateknindo Pura Jaya is carrying out the construction, with 9.5 km of good existing condition and 48.9 km of heavily damaged,” Aryatno stated.

Meli Fransiska, a resident of Arma Jaya District who also works as a local village assistant, expects that the road upgrades will make her daily job easier. “We hope that this road will be repaired soon so that this village can improve by assisting villagers in bringing plantation and agricultural products, specifically oil palm and rubber,” she said.(ABIM)