One by one, constructions for Trans-Sumatra toll road that has started since 2015 are finished. Slowly but surely, the toll road is starting to benefit the public.

Trans-Sumatra toll road construction started in 2015. The toll road currently has four operational segments, namely Medan-Binjai (17 kilometres), Palembang-Indralaya (22 km), Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar (140.9 km), and Terbanggi Besar-Kayu Agung (189 km).

Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road (131 km) is set to be operational in early 2020. Hence, in five years, PT Hutama Karya (Persero) can operate 500 km of toll roads, which is an achievement that has never been done before.

The construction of Trans-Sumatra toll road was started with Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar toll segment in August 2018 until construction of Pekanbaru-Dumai toll segment in November 2019.

The toll road has triggered activities in the services sector and boosted the economy of the public. Crossing transportation services at Merak Port grew 7% from March to April 2019.

“Besides Trans-Sumatra, growth [in crossing transportation services] is caused by [the increase] in airfare,” PT ASDP General Manager for Merak Capt. Solikhin said.

The hotel sector also improved in the 8 months of Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar toll road operation. Based on the data collected by Lampung Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the occupancy of hotels from March to October 2019 increased by 26 points to 59.16%.

The number of guests, compared to the period from March to October in 2018, grows 27% to 421,037 guests.

Non-cash ecosystem

The toll road operation in Sumatra is a catalyst for non-cash transaction development. At the ferry ports in Merak and Bakauheni, operators have implemented non-cash transaction methods.

Banks in southern Sumatra assessed that the toll road operation would boost non-cash transactions in the region. In the central part of Sumatra, the toll road is expected to establish a non-cash payment ecosystem in Riau and West Sumatra.

Bank BNI Performance and Channel Management Head for Palembang Area Yudi Indra said that the transportation sector, such as toll roads and crossings, would establish a non-cash payment ecosystem in South Sumatra.

He said that, during Lebaran 2019, BNI issued 30,000 TapCash cards, which was quite a significant amount.

The obligation to use electronic money cards also benefits Habib. He has a stall that is not far from the access gate of Terbanggi Besar toll road. Every day, he can sell 24 electronic money cards and profit Rp5 million from top-ups. “Many [drivers] search for e-toll cards as it must be used to enter the toll road,” he said to Bisnis.

It can be said that truck drivers are the ones who benefit most from the toll road in Sumatra. If they use the toll road, travel time from Bakauheni to Kayu Agung is only 5.4 hours with an average speed of 60 km per hour.

Sugih, a truck driver of 10 years in Lampung, said that the toll road had been beneficial for drivers in terms of time efficiency and operational costs. “If we use the Sumatra crossing, [travel] to Palembang can take 4 days. It only takes a day if we use the toll road,” he said.

Breaking isolation

Generally, the toll road is reckoned to provide access to regions in Sumatra that have been isolated due to roads with bad conditions.

Data from the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry shows that the length of national roads with bad conditions in Sumatra in 2017 reached 1,370 km or nearly 10% of the total national road length in Sumatra.

Out of the 10 provinces in Sumatra, three provinces, namely Lampung, South Sumatra, and Riau, recorded the longest length of roads with bad conditions. About 45% of national roads with bad conditions in Sumatra are in these three provinces.

One of the regions highlighted is Bengkulu. In September 2019, Bisnis spent 12 hours to reach Bengkulu from Palembang. Bisnis used an Isuzu MUX to travel 219 km of national roads in this central part of Sumatra.

Bengkulu, which peaked in the 18th century, is now the most inferior province in Sumatra. Data from BPS shows that the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of Bengkulu in 2018 only reached Rp66.41 trillion, which is the lowest GRDP in Sumatra.

Hence, next to the main corridor that connects Bakauheni and Banda Aceh, Trans-Sumatra construction will also include three supporting corridors. The three supporting corridors are Kuala Tanjung-Tebing Tinggi-Parapat-Sibolga, Dumai-Pekanbaru-Padang, and Palembang-Lubuklinggau-Bengkulu.

Overall, the 24 toll segments assigned to PT Hutama Karya reach 2,765 km. The assignment is stated on Presidential Regulation Number 117 of 2015.

Trans-Sumatra toll segments until 2020

1. Terbanggi Besar-Pematang Panggan-Kayu Agung:

• Status: Operational
• Investment: Rp21.95 trillion
• Length: 189 km

2. Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar:

• Status: Operational
• Investment: Rp16.79 trillion
• Length: 140.9 km

3. Pekanbaru-Dumai:

• Status: In construction
• Investment: Rp17.35 trillion
• Length: 131.5 km

4. Palembang-Indralaya:

• Status: Operational
• Investment: Rp3.31 trillion
• Length: 22 km

5. Medan-Binjai Sections 2 and 3:

• Status: Operational
• Investment: Rp2.5 trillion
• Length: 10.46 km