UGM Center for Transportation and Logistics Studies (Pustral), in collaboration with PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (Persero) or PT PII, launched the Critical Study Book on Toll Road Development in Indonesia on Friday (23/6) during the first series of INCoTalk on UGM Jakarta Campus.
INCoTalk is a discussion forum initiated by Innovative Financing (INFINITY) and launched by PT PII in March 2023. During the event, the Head of Pustral and the President Director of PT PII officially submitted the book to the Minister of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia, Basuki Hadimuljono.
In his speech, Minister Basuki Hadimuljono highlighted two crucial aspects to consider in the operation of toll roads. The first aspect concerns the quality of construction, while the second relates to governance.
The quality aspect is closely related to the subgrade, thus requiring proper soil investigation. In terms of governance, the toll road operation within the Ministry of Public Works and Housing is currently handled by three divisions: the Directorate General of Infrastructure Financing (financing aspect before the contract), the Directorate General of Highways (technical aspect), and the Toll Road Regulatory Agency (management, service monitoring, and environmental elements).
“I hope this book can become a reference for toll road developers,” said the minister in his speech.
President Director of PT PII, M. Wahid Sutopo, stated that PT PII is one of the Special Mission Vehicles (SMVs) under the Ministry of Finance mandated to accelerate infrastructure development through government guarantee schemes.
As an SMV, PT PII strongly supports the effort to produce the critical study book on toll road development in Indonesia. In his view, this book will be an appropriate reference for discussing policies, risk management, governance, and sustainability in toll road development.
“This book is a concrete step towards knowledge management and sharing lessons learned, which the public can widely utilize to understand how this infrastructure can be developed and built due to close collaboration between the government, investors, businesses, and financial institutions,” explained Sutopo.
Professor Danang Parikesit, the coordinator of the book’s authors, discussed the fragmented nature of toll road development, especially in terms of engineering and financing. He emphasized that toll road development involves a vast knowledge ecosystem, ranging from policy to financial aspects, technical design, and construction methods.
He referred to engineering as an aspect that needs continuous exploration and study to ensure the quality of roads can be sustained throughout the 50-year concession period. Thus, the focus should not only be on delivery but also sustainability.
“In these three volumes, there are 31 scientific articles compiled to high standards, derived from references and experiences. Seventy-seven authors wrote the book from 17 campuses, including private and state universities, ministries, and institutions. It references a total of 606 sources from domestic and international references,” he explained.
Head of Pustral, Dr. Ikaputra, said that Universitas Gadjah Mada always encourages its academic community to produce works that benefit the wider society. He highly appreciated the publication of this book, which successfully incorporated narratives from authors from various universities and relevant institutions, covering toll road themes from 1978 to 2022 from multiple scientific perspectives.
The book, initiated by Professor Danang Parikesit, a UGM Faculty of Engineering lecturer, is the first comprehensive book on toll roads. Praise should be given for the hard work and dedication of the authors and all those who supported the compilation of this book.
“Through this comprehensive critical study book presented in three volumes, the authors have made an effort to narrate the development policies of toll roads in the past, present, and future, as well as the technical aspects of design and construction and the operation and maintenance of toll roads,” he explained.
Author: Agung Nugroho