Jakarta (ANTARA) - The feasibility study for the construction of an underwater toll road or immersed tunnel in Nusantara has been completed, the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) chief Basuki Hadimuljono revealed
“The feasibility study has just been completed. We will then prepare the design. Maybe next year, the design will be completed," he stated here on Tuesday (Dec 31).
Hadimuljono noted that the construction of the immersed tunnel is estimated to take two years to complete.
The tunnel is part of the Nusantara toll road, which connects Balikpapan City with Nusantara and is 47 kilometers in length.
It takes around 30 minutes to travel from the Sepinggan Balikpapan Airport to Nusantara through the toll road.
Construction of the immersed tunnel will follow IKN Nusantara's forest city concept.
The government could have built a bridge, but eventually, it decided to build an immersed tunnel to protect the environment.
The government is intent on protecting the endemic proboscis monkeys and other endemic animals and plants in Balikpapan Bay through the immersed tunnel.
The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry stated that the immersed tunnel in Nusantara will be constructed in collaboration with South Korea, considering that the country has experience building an immersed tunnel in Geoje, Busan.
Based on Law No. 3 of 2022 concerning the Nusantara Master Plan, the basic principles of development in Indonesia's new capital must prioritize nature, technology, and environmental sustainability.
Hence, Nusantara's development planning is integrated with the sustainable concept to harmoniously balance the natural ecology, the built or physical environment, and the social system.
In addition, the development of Nusantara must prevent possible negative impacts of urbanization and extreme weather that can increase the risks of floods and raw water shortages.
