Holiday Ayo - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) together with the Toll Road Business Entity (BUJT) are trying to accelerate the construction of a number of toll roads in various regions in order to increase connectivity between regions and improve the community's economy, one of which is the 26.84 km Semarang - Demak Toll Road in Semarang, Central Java. 

Expert Staff to the Minister of PUPR for Technology, Industry and the Environment and Spokesperson for the Ministry of PUPR, Endra S Atmawidjaja, said that the Semarang-Demak Toll Road is a national strategic project (PSN) which is planned as a complementary section of the Pantura Jawa National Road connecting Semarang - Demak - Gresik - Surabaya. 

“Considering its vital role as a logistics route in North Java, the community has been waiting for the completion of the Semarang - Demak Toll Road. The existence of the Semarang - Demak Toll Road will increase road capacity while reducing the traffic load on Jalan Pantura Jawa which is already very congested and often experiences traffic jams," said Endra in Jakarta, Saturday. 

Acting as a Toll Road Business Entity (BUJT) is PT. PP Semarang Demak (PPSD) which uses the SBO-T (Supported, Build, Operate and Transfer) scheme. 

The toll road consists of the BUJT investment portion on the 16.31 km Sayung - Demak section which is on land and has been operating since February 25 2023. 

“Meanwhile, the Government's portion of the Semarang - Sayung section is 10.64 km long which is above the sea and is divided into 3 packages which are currently in the construction stage with overall physical progress reaching 9.25 percent. The target for completion of the entire construction package is in February 2027," said Endra. 

For the Government portion, the contractors implementing Package 1A are Hutama Karya (HK) and Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), Package 1B is Housing Development (PP), Wijaya Karya (WIKA) and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and Package 1C is Adhi Karya and Sinohydro. 

Some of the funds for the construction of this project came from foreign loans. It is hoped that the presence of the Semarang - Demak Toll Road will further complement the road network connectivity in the northern part of Central Java as well as connecting strategic areas such as ports, airports, industrial areas and religious tourism areas, especially in the Demak area.

In addition, with the construction of a toll road that is integrated with the sea wall, it is hoped that the problem of tidal flooding in East Semarang, especially Kaligawe - Sayung, which causes significant economic losses, can be resolved by the end of 2024. 

Moreover, with the construction of embankments with up to 7 layers of embankment and the operation of Pump Houses at the Terboyo and Sriwulan Retention Ponds.