Around 63 Percent of Roads in Sumbawa Regency Need Repaired

KBRN, Sumbawa: Around 63 percent of roads in Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara need repair because the road condition level is still low, but unfortunately the road improvement seems unlikely to happen soon.

“The budget needed is quite large,” said secretary of Public Works and Housing Service (PUPR) Agency, Iyang Syahruddin on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, as quoted by rri.co.id.

He estimated a budget requirement of IDR 1.4 trillion (approximately USD 85.4 million) to address road infrastructure issues, including opening new roads and improving the condition of existing roads.

One of the main focuses is handling the road segment in the Batulanteh area, which is estimated to require a budget of around IDR 300 billion (approximately USD 17.94 million). Additionally, handling the Mata–Tolo’Oi–Ongko–Mata and Pidang–Mata Road segments, totaling 40 kilometers, is estimated to need more than IDR 100 billion (approximately USD 5.98 million).

He explained that the main obstacle in road handling is that most road segments are located in forest areas. “The licensing process to open roads in forest areas requires considerable time and cost,” he said.

Iyang also revealed that other planned road segments to be handled are Matemega–Trupa–Marente–Trupa and Trupa–Matemega, which are also in forest areas.

“Considering the geographical conditions and the location of roads in forest areas, the budget needed is quite large. Not to mention when we talk about road quality,” he added.

Iyang mentioned that the total length of road segments in Sumbawa Regency reaches 951.57 kilometers. To increase road condition by 10 percent, a budget of around IDR 334 billion (approximately USD 20.3 million) is required.

That budget only handles about 97 kilometers of roads, not including maintenance costs, which of course require an even larger budget.

Although the current budget is limited, the authorities continue to strive to meet the road infrastructure development target. “We will continue to strive to reach the target of 80 percent good road conditions as this directly impacts the interests of the Sumbawa community,” he concluded. ***