Region III National Road Implementation Agency (BBPJN) signed a 2016 Budget Year (TA) work package worth Rp373 billion in January. The packages were signed twice each on January 14 with a value of Rp. 183.96 billion (29 packages) in Bandar Lampung, Lampung and on January 28 with a value of Rp. 189 billion (30 packages) in Palembang, South Sumatra (South Sumatra).

For information, BBPJN III handles and is responsible for national roads in Lampung, South Sumatra, Bangka Belitung and Bengkulu. The Head of BBPJN III, Thomas Setiabudi Aden, believes that by signing a work contract at the beginning of the year, construction can be carried out immediately so that it can be completed on time.

"2016 is an accelerating year especially for the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing," continued Thomas.

For TA. 2016 BBPJN III has allocated funds of Rp.958 Billion for Lampung, Rp.577 Billion for Bengkulu, Rp. 234 Billion for Bangka Belitung, and the largest budget allocated for South Sumatra is Rp. 1.2 trillion, because it will be one of the hosts of the Asian Games in 2018.

Assistant II for Financial Economics and Development of South Sumatra Regional Secretariat, and Head of the Department of Public Works of the South Sumatra Province of South Sumatra, appreciated BBPJN III for truly supporting the Asian Games event by prioritizing infrastructure development for the smooth running of the four-yearly sporting event.

Thomas explained, the two signings were a continuation of the signing that had been done on January 6 in Jakarta and witnessed directly by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimoeljono, Director General (Dirjen) Bina Marga, Hediyanto W. Husaini and head of the Ministry of PUPR.

At that time, the Directorate General of Highways signed 385 work packages with a total value of Rp7.61 trillion. The signatures were carried out simultaneously in five locations namely Medan, Surabaya, Banjarmasin, Manado and Jayapura which included work packages spread throughout Indonesia in 11 National Road Centers / National Road Implementation Centers within the Directorate General of Highways and witnessed by the President through Video Conference. (KompuBM)