VZCZCXRO2720
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0062/01 1700143
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190143Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0428
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0196
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0415
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0437
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0063
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0008

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000062 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, EB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV EINV SOCI ID CH
SUBJECT: SURABAYA: SOUTHEAST ASIA'S LONGEST BRIDGE OPENS--BUT IMPACT 
IN QUESTION 
 
REF: A. SURABAYA 13 (BUILDING INDONESIA'S LONGEST BRIDGE) 
     ¶B. 2007 SURABAYA 78 (MADURA UNPREPARED FOR BRIDGE) 
 
SURABAYA 00000062  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: After decades of sporadic planning, Indonesia's 
longest bridge opened on June 10th.  Empty pockets and grass 
roots opposition stymied the span that now links the islands of 
Java and Madura.  Burdened with symbolism before it carried its 
first car, skepticism over promised economic benefits mixed with 
fears of spiritual pollution by Madura's Islamic leaders delayed 
the project.  Chinese funding and engineers helped overcome the 
final barriers to construction.  While street lamps disappear 
from the span and ferry operators demand government subsidies, 
economists, officials and religious leaders don't yet have a 
sense of the likely economic or social impact on four of East 
Java's poorest regencies.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) President Yudhoyono officially opened the Suramadu 
bridge, linking the islands of Madura and Java, on June 10, 
¶2009.  The bridge had been a dream of successive Presidents and 
Governors since the 1960s, but ground was not broken until 2003. 
 The 1998 global financial crisis and fear of outside influence 
by Madura's conservative Muslim leaders stalled construction 
until 2005, when Chinese investment and a more supportive 
Madurese population was assured. 
 
Chinese Investment 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) The 5.4 kilometer span connects East Java's provincial 
capital, Surabaya, to Madura Island, previously only accessible 
by a 30-minute ferry ride.  The project's total cost, including 
connecting roads, was nearly USD 445 million.  A Chinese 
Contractor Consortium built half the bridge; Indonesian 
contractors completed the rest.  Chinese loans accounted for a 
reported USD 178 million.  The Suramadu Bridge is just one 
tranche of Chinese-supported infrastructure projects in 
Indonesia totaling a reported USD 507 million. 
 
¶4. (U) As Chinese loans and engineers revived the project, 
Madura's Islamic establishment agreed to drop its opposition. 
Former East Java Governor and Madura native Mumammad Noer was 
instrumental in convincing conservative clerics that Madura 
needed to embrace the bridge in order to raise living standards. 
 Fears remain that unskilled and uneducated Madurese will be 
further marginalized in their own backyard, if factories are 
built that don't require their skills.  Some clerics remain 
concerned that Madura's conservative religious culture will be 
polluted by unhealthy influences from Java. 
 
Bridge to a Question Mark 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) If Madura had a concrete economic development plan -- 
integrated with the province -- the bridge could attract 
investors, tourists and bring a multiplier effect say local 
economists.  On June 16, the Governor of East Java announced 
that President Yudhoyono had appointed the former Regent of 
Madiun as the province's representative for the Suramadu 
Development Area Board based on his "capability to understand 
Madurese culture."  To date, however, neither provincial nor 
local governments have engaged in the planning needed to realize 
the bridge's promise, according to Airlangga University Prof. 
Slamet.  Slamet believes reduced transport costs will make 
Madura's labor more competitive and should spur near-term local 
job growth.  Congen Surabaya's meetings with Madura's academics, 
local officials and religious leaders all suggest that the 
course of development will be left to chance, rather than guided 
by planning. 
 
Falling Ferry Usage -- Missing Pieces 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Since the bridge opened to traffic, ferry operator ADSP 
reported a 40% drop in motorcycles and a 70% drop in cars using 
the ferries.  Ferry operators expressed concern that the number 
of ferry users will continue to drop as the bridge toll is lower 
than a ferry ticket.  The government estimates that ferry 
passenger traffic will decrease 20-50% as a result of the 
bridge's opening.  Ferry operators have requested the government 
subsidize their operations and raise bridge tolls in order to 
maintain ferry-related jobs. 
 
¶7. (U) Security on the bridge has been problematic, as 
newspapers report that several holes have been discovered on the 
approaches and main span where users have removed nuts and 
 
SURABAYA 00000062  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
bolts, especially in the motorcycle lanes.  After the press 
reported that at least 42 street lamps were missing from the 
span, raising concerns about the safety of shipping under the 
bridge, PT Jasa Marga, the bridge operator, announced it would 
install closed circuit TV and the East Java Provincial Police 
announced it would increase its routine patrols of the bridge. 
MCCLELLAND