INDUSTRY.co.id - Padang - President Jokowi has inaugurated the start of construction of Padang-Bukit Tinggi-Pekanbaru toll road marked by the first stone laying or ground breaking stage I of Padang-Sicincin segment.

Quoted from the official page, Sunday (11/2/2018), President Jokowi said, the distance from Padang to Pekanbaru currently takes up to nine hours of travel. With the toll road will eventually cut the travel time to 6 hours, so that only about 3 hours.

"Last Friday, I inaugurated the start of construction of the Padang-Pekanbaru toll road, which is 244 kilometers long with the construction cost Rp78 trillion," said Presidn Jokowi.

President Jokowi explained, on the Padang - Pekanbaru toll road section will also be built several tunnels that total length almost nine kilometers, through the Bukit Barisan mountain belly.

"This will be the longest tunnel in Indonesia, it costs nine trillion rupiah," he added.

According to President Jokowi, with the Padang-Pekanbaru toll road will lower logistics costs and improve competitiveness.

If completed in 2023, he added, this toll road will have a tremendous positive impact on the economy of West Sumatra and its surroundings.

"It's not just about transporting products, but also facilitating tourist access to the beauty of West Sumatra is so complete: religion, culture and nature," he concluded.

For your information, the construction of Padang-Pekanbaru toll road will be done in three stages until 2023. Phase I connects Padang-Sicincin along 28 km, stage II connects Bangkinang-Pekanbaru along 38 km, and phase III connects Sicincin-Bangkinan along 189 km.