Sunda Strait Bridge's construction cancelled

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The construction of Sunda Strait Bridge will be cancelled though Ministry of Public Works and Housing has prepared the implementation. Minister of Public Works and Housing, Basuki Hadimoeljono said that the project did not gain political support from the government of Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Jusuf Kalla.

Sunda Strait Bridge project must get social, politic and economic support. According to Hadimoeljono, the Ministry will follow the direction of Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas).

"This issue has not been discussed in cabinet meeting, but we knew it from the running text. We will follow the decision," Hadimoeljono said on Tuesday in Jakarta.

Sunda Strait Bridge's development is one of the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economy (MP3EI) programs, which aims to improve the economy of Java and Sumatra. The construction was supposed to be implemented by government of United Indonesia Cabinet of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but until now it has not been started.

The planned 29 kilometer bridge is the biggest infrastructure project in MP3EI. It requires fund of 200 trillion IDR.