JAKARTA, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Indonesia would begin constructing the world's would-be longest bridge in Sunda Strait connecting two main islands of Sumatra and Java in 2014, as an effort to boost infrastructure development in the southeast Asian largest economy.
The 30-km long bridge is expected to boost economy in both islands, particularly in Sumatra island, in which over 80 percent of the country's about 230 million population live, said Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto said here Thursday.
"The bridge could become a landmark of Indonesia," Antara news agency cited the minister as saying.
Kirmanto said that that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had asked him to establish a task force team to analyze the mega project.
"We expect the construction would start in 2014. The President has instructed the public minister to set up a team which will analyze the project within the first 100 days of the cabinet work, " he told reporters after a cabinet meeting at the State Palace here.
"As the technology of bridge has developed, the bridge could be a land mark of Indonesia," said Kirmanto.
The project could cost over 100,000 trillion rupiah (some US$10.6 billion), according to a pre-feasibility study.
"The team would count the real cost of the project and to determine the source of the funds. It may be from the state budget or private sector, or the combination of them," he said.
In January 2010, the team would start working, said Kirmanto.
According to the pre-feasibility study, the bridge would have the longest span in the world, about 220 meters.
President Yudhoyono, who was re-elected for his second term on July 8, has promised to boost development of infrastructure during his second term to reach an annual economic growth of at least 7 percent at the end of his term in 2014.
In June, Indonesia completed the building of the longest bridge in Southeast Asia with about 5 kilometers in length, connecting East Java and its island of Madura.
Experts had predicted that the sea ports in the strait could not facilitate the growing economic activities in the two islands within ten years.
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