Govt responds positively to plan to build malacca strait bridge

id govt responds positively to plan to build malacca strait bridge

Pekambaru - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would support plans to build a bridge connecting Malacca Strait and Dumai in the Riau province, Riau governor Rusli Zainal said.

"The President has even assured the public that the government would push the development of the Malacca Strait-Dumai bridge after the construction of the Sunda Strait bridge," he said, quoting the President, according to a press release from the Riau province administration's liaison office in Jakarta here on Friday.

The release, issued by office staff member Erisman Yahya, says the President made the statement at a meeting with provincial governors across the country at his private residence in Puri Cikeas, Bogor, West Java on Thursday night (March 15).

The meeting was also attended by a number of cabinet ministers, including Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Djoko Suyanto and National Development Planning Minister Armida S. Alisjahbana.

The meeting was held in connection with the government's plan to raise the price of subsidized gasoline to ensure that all provincial governors would accept the hike and ensure its implementation for the greater interests of the nation.

After the meeting, Rusli Zainal said that although the focus had been on the planned fuel price hike issue, President Yudhoyono had also touched on several strategic issues.

"The President just now talked about the planned fuel price hike. However, he will also touch on various development projects, including the plan to build a Malacca Strait-Dumai bridge," he said.

The President mentioned that after the construction of the Sunda Strait bridge, the government would proceed to the Malacca Strait bridge, Zainal said. He noted that he supported the idea, saying, "Moreover, the Riau administration has actually been considering the idea for a long time. We certainly support the idea since it would spur development in Indonesia in general, and Riau in particular."

He said his aides had even studied the bridge plan with the Malaysian government, acknowledging that if the project is realized, Riau would become the main entry gate of the Unitary State of Indonesia. "Riau will be more strategic in the eyes of investors," he added.