The Lost Highway

REGRETTABLY, the Trans Sumatra Highway remains nothing more than a plan in the last days of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency. There has been no directive to act as a legal umbrella for the construction of the 2,771-kilometer freeway, despite the plan having been included in the Yudhoyono administration's Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Economic Development.

Without this legal umbrella, the project to link Aceh with Lampung faces an uncertain future. The source of the funding is unclear, and the government has not managed to convince the House of Representatives (DPR) on the importance of developing this piece of infrastructure. The DPR has refused to authorize the disbursement of state funds for the project last year and this year.

August 5, 2014