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Construction of the Cikampek-Palimanan toll road, a project set to cost Rp 12.5 trillion ($1.39 billion), began on Thursday, with the road scheduled to open in 2014.

The 116-kilometer toll road will connect the existing Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, one of the busiest in Indonesia, to West Java’s Cirebon.

It is part of the government’s project to link western and eastern Java through a 653-kilometer trans-Java toll road.

“We believe all parties involved, including the central and local governments, investors and financial institutions, will work closely to ensure the project is completed on time and as planned,” Muhammad Fadzil, president director of Lintas Marga Sedaya, the operator of the toll road, said during the ground-breaking ceremony.

The government has helped in the acquisition of 93 percent of the land required for the entire toll road project. The remaining 7 percent of land still to be acquired is mostly located in Cirebon.

The toll road construction will be divided into six phases, which will commence simultaneously, with the aim of completing the project in September 2014.

“The toll road will offer local communities great benefits through the creation of job opportunities and regional economic development,” Fadzil said, referring to prospects of the toll road’s multiplier effect in the regions it serves.

The toll road operator said that once the toll road was in operation, it would be possible to travel from Cikampek regency — home to foreign carmakers including Toyota and Nissan — to Palimanan, a subdistrict in Cirebon, in one hour. It now takes two to three hours to make the trip along Java’s north coast road, Pantura.

Cirebon has a multipurpose seaport involved in the shipping of key commodities including coal and vegetable oils.

Lintas Marga is a joint venture of Malaysia’s Plus Expressways Berhad and a consortium of local partners. Plus Expressways owns a 55 percent stake in the company and the consortium, which includes Baskhara Utama Sedaya, Bukaka Teknik Utama and Baskhara Lokabuana, holds the remaining 45 percent.

Baskhara Utama is affiliated with businessman Sandiaga Uno, while Bukaka is affiliated with Jusuf Kalla, a businessman and the former vice president.

Lintas Marga said that out of the Rp 12.5 trillion investment cost, Rp 8.8 trillion would be financed through debt and the balance through equity.

The groundbreaking was held in Cikopo, Purwakarta regency, where construction of the toll road started. The ceremony was attended by Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and the chairman of the Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT), Ahmad Ghani Ghazali.