Ministry of Public Works operates roads on functional basis to address congestion in Merak
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Investor Daily - Kementerian PU fungsionalkan jalan atasi penumpukan Merak
28 January 2025
Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo and Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi will support each other in providing infrastructure in preparation for the 2025 Eid al-Fitr season.
Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo stated that his agency has coordinated with the Transportation Ministry to support travel accessibility for the 2025 Eid al-Fitr season, based on evaluations from the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year season.
"There are several suggestions from the Transportation Minister, and we want to sit down together to discuss them in more detail," said Dody in Jakarta last week (24/01/2025), as quoted by Antara.
One of the suggestions from the Transportation Minister, he said, is related to infrastructure preparations for Eid al-Fitr, particularly the plan to improve roads leading to Merak Port in Banten. Additionally, Minister Dody mentioned that there will be new functional roads that need to be prepared to support this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday period. "As usual, there will be new functional roads here and there," he said.
Meanwhile, based on a Working Meeting with Commission V of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Public Works Ministry was asked to intensively coordinate with all toll road operators to make improvements to support the upcoming homecoming transportation.
Several points of note include ensuring the fulfilment of the Minimum Service Standards (SPM) for Toll Roads, particularly regarding road conditions, safety and security infrastructure, and supporting facilities for toll road users.
Previously, Transportation Minister Dudy outlined strategies for addressing the upcoming Eid al-Fitr transportation, one of which is the implementation of buffer zones to alleviate congestion on access routes to the Merak-Bakauheni Ferry Port.
The Merak route requires more attention due to the need to anticipate passenger congestion caused by the limited routes to the ferry port. "This route must always be managed during peak seasons to prevent congestion and surprises. Therefore, one option is the buffer zone. On the other hand, if there are new routes, they might be better planned in the future," he said.
In addition to optimising the route to Merak by using buffer zones, infrastructure asset optimisation is also necessary, including coordination with ministries/agencies. "This coordination still considers safety aspects, the implementation of the Free Homecoming Programme, and the need for ticket digitalisation across all modes of transportation," he said.
Transportation Minister Dudy hopes that with these strategies, the 2025 Eid al-Fitr transportation can be as good as or better than the 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year transportation, which went smoothly. The public also positively regarded the 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year transportation.
"Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), thanks to the collaboration during the last Christmas and New Year transportation period, a survey from UGM (Universitas Gadjah Mada) showed that 86% of the public were satisfied. This score is a valuable note because the number of people travelling during Eid al-Fitr is expected to be much higher," said Dudy.
