The Directorate General (DG) of DGH participated in the 2016 Transportation and Infrastructure Exhibition held on September 14-16, 2016 at the Smesco Building, Jakarta. In the exhibition, the Directorate General of Highways presented information, among others, about the development of border road programs in Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara and Papua.

The exhibition which was held to commemorate Transportation Day was opened by the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimoeljono and the Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi. In his speech Basuki said, one of President Joko Widodo's Nawacita points was to develop Indonesia by strengthening regions and villages within the framework of a unitary state.

"The policy direction of the Ministry of PUPR in 2015-2019 is to realize the strengthening of national connectivity through the support of the provision of road infrastructure that meets service standards," said the Minister of PUPR.

He continued the Ministry of PUPR's Strategic Plan for 2015-2019 in the areas of roads and bridges including the construction of 2,650 Km of new roads, 29.86 Km of new bridges and increased capacity of roads along 3,073 Km and national bridges of 19.95 Km and the construction of 1,000 Km of toll roads.

After opening the 2016 Transportation and Infrastructure Exhibition, Basuki and Budi took the opportunity to directly see the booths of exhibitors. When visiting the PUPR Ministry's booth, the two Ministers were welcomed by the Director of Road Development of the Directorate General of Highways, Achamd Gani Ghazali Akman and the Head of the Public Communication Bureau of the Ministry of PUPR Endra Saleh Atmawidjaja.

On the occasion, Gani explained that the construction of border roads in Kalimantan, NTT and Papua aims to improve connectivity, especially to support community activities in the border region.

"The construction of the border road is planned to be completed in 2018, except for the border road in NTT which can be completed more quickly in 2017," explained Gani.

In addition to information on border road construction, at the three-day Exhibition, the Directorate General of Highways also presented information on the strategic plan of the Directorate General of Highways in 2017, namely the construction of long-span bridges and the construction of fly-over / underpasses. Information about the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) program support was also displayed for 10 national tourism zones and 10 special economic zones. (Kompu BM)