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State toll road operator Jasa Marga has completed a feasibility study to build a 1,000 kilometer trans-Sumatra toll road that would link Aceh to Lampung.

Adityawarman, the company’s president director, said it had signed agreements with 10 regional governments on Sumatra, and would meet with them next week to discuss the next step.

“From the corporate side, we are ready. There has been a study. We will discuss the study,’’ he said in Sumatra this week.

State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said there was an urgent need to develop a toll road traversing Sumatra, which is almost four times larger than Java, to help boost economic activity on the island.

“We are ready to build the trans-Sumatra toll road projects as instructed by the minister,’’ Adityawarman said.

Construction on the project, which is forecast to cost Rp 150 trillion ($17 billion), is expected to start this year.

Jasa Marga will cooperate with state plantation companies on the project because the road will pass through land they own.

Sumatra is home to palm oil, coffee, coal and natural gas. Wilmar International, the world’s largest listed palm oil producer, has operations there.

Adityawarman said land acquisition for the road has been completed.

Apart from the trans-Sumatra toll road, Jasa Marga has said that it wants to build two toll roads in Medan. Last month, the company announced plans for a 20-kilometer line from Medan to Binjai and an 18-kilometer road from Medan to Kuala Namu that connects to an international airport.

The line to Binjai is estimated to cost Rp 1.2 trillion and the road to the airport is estimated at Rp 1.5 trillion. They will be part of a larger 60-kilometer toll road estimated to cost Rp 4.5 trillion, Adityawarman said last month.

Riau Governor Rusli Zainal said his government has completed the land acquisition in his province.

The administration is planning to build a 202 kilometer road linking Pekanbaru/Pelalawan and Rengat, and another 70-kilometer road from Pekanbaru to Dumai. Pekanbaru is home to local units of global oil giants such as Chevron Pacific Indonesia and Total Indonesia.

Dahlan said the Kuala Namu project is a priority and should be completed this year.

Under the government’s long-term economic plan, the country will be divided into six economic corridors. Sumatra will specialize in agriculture and energy.

Indonesia is seeking to develop infrastructure projects to spur economic growth. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to double spending on roads, seaports and airports to $150 billion to help achieve average economic growth of 6.6 percent through 2014.

Jasa Marga, the country’s biggest toll-road operator, operates 531 kilometers of toll roads, equivalent to 72 percent of Indonesia’s total.

The Sumatra plan comes at a time when the company, under the leadership of Aditayawarman, who was appointed last month, moves to diversify into non-toll road businesses.

Investor Daily