Manado-Bitung toll road to start operating in mid 2020
Friday, June 28 2019 - 02:03 AM WIB
The toll road linking Manado and Bitung town in North Sulawesi is on track to start full operation in mid 2020.
The project, the first toll road in North Sulawesi, is being developed by PT Jasamarga Manado Bitung (JMB), a subsidiary of IDX-listed toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Tbk.
President Director of PT JMB George IMP Manurung said the project construction is now 70.38 percent complete, while land clearance is 86.15 percent complete.
The 39-kilometers toll road development is divided into four sections, consisting as follow:
• Section 1A Ring Road Manado-Sukur along 7 Km
• Section 1B Sukur-Air Madidi (7 Km)
• Section 2A Air Madidi-Danowudu (11.50 Km)
• Section 2B Danowudu-Bitung (13.50 Km)
George said the clearance is one of the challenge in developing the Manado-Bitung toll road. Certain part of the land clearance is being hampered by land-related such as land legal issue, administration problem such as validity of land certificates, etc.
He expects the remaining land needed will be cleared in the third quarter of 2019 so that the company can construction the remaining section of the toll road.
He expects by the end of 2019, up to 14 kilometers of the toll road can be used functionally and freely to help traffic between the two town.
The Manado-Bitung is one of the National Strategic Projects of the Joko Widodo government.
Editing by Roffie Kurniawan