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State toll road developer Jasa Marga will put up Rp 1.9 trillion ($210 million) to speed the construction of a 50-kilometer toll road linking Bawen and Semarang in Central Java, a ministry official has said.

The money will finance land acquisition for the toll road, State Enterprise Minister Dahlan Iskan said, and is intended to expedite the construction of the road so it can be completed in 2013, two years earlier than initially planned.

The stretch of road is part of the 75.5-kilometer-long Semarang-Solo toll project and will be one of ten segments of the Trans-Java toll road network.

The completion of the first phase of the Semarang-Solo toll road had been delayed due to problems with purchasing the land. The Public Works Ministry said that the funds for its acquisition had been allocated to next year’s budget.

Jakarta-based Jasa Marga, which controls the rights to operate road concessions through its unit Trans Marga Jateng, offered to pay for it in the short term to avoid more delays.

“So, we are using the Jasa Marga money first. It will be repaid later from the state budget,” Dahlan said.

The government has estimated the cost of building the Semarang-Solo road at Rp 6.8 trillion.

Frans Sunito, Jasa Marga’s president director, said the company hoped government support would extend to maintenance as well, as the toll road was not financially viable.

“We can raise the toll but that would mean no one would use the road,” Frans was quoted as saying by Investor Daily.

As part of Indonesia’s Master Plan of Economic Development (MP3EI), the country has been investing vigorously in infrastructure projects such as airports, seaports and toll roads to create jobs and spur economic growth.

The Trans-Java toll road consists of 10 segments with a total length of 808 km. The network is expected to cut the 18-hour drive from Jakarta to Surabaya to just 8 hours, supporting Java’s industry and services corridor.

Jasa Marga is aiming for the Trans-Java toll road network to be completed entirely in 2014.