REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TRENGGALEK -- The government has set itself a target of completing the construction of East Java's southern road stretching from Pacitan to Malang districts by 2019.
"We hope it could be completed quickly according to the plan," Head of the Regional Infrastructure Development Board at the Public Works and Housing Ministry Hermanto Dardak stated on Sunday.
Land clearance has so far slowed down the construction work of East Java's southern road, he pointed out.
The problem is not related to the land owned by local residents, but a land swap deal of private land with that managed by the state forestry company (Perhutani), he affirmed.
East Java's southern road has been built in stages, he remarked.
The construction of a section of the road in Pacitan district has been completed, while work on the sections of the road in Trenggalek and Tulungagung districts is still ongoing, he said.
"The road is being built section by section, pending the settlement of the land swap deal," he stated.
The construction of East Java's southern road is part of the government's grand program to boost the economy of the province's southern part.
The road will link Pacitan district bordering Central Java to Banyuwangi district in the eastern tip of Java.