On this day seventeen years ago, the Suramadu National Bridge was inaugurated
On 10 June 2009, the Suramadu National Bridge was officially inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Spanning approximately 5.4 kilometers, it became the longest bridge in Indonesia. It connects Surabaya City with Bangkalan Regency on Madura Island. Before the bridge was built, travel between Java and Madura relied on ferries operating between Ujung Port in Surabaya and Kamal Port in Bangkalan.
The idea of building a bridge connecting Surabaya and Madura was proposed as early as the 1960s during the era of President Soekarno. The project was formally initiated in 1990 through Presidential Decree No. 55 1990. However, it was halted following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. The project was revived during the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and construction officially began with the installation of foundation piles on 20 August 2003. After six years of construction, the bridge was completed and opened to the public in 2009, with construction costs reaching approximately Rp5 trillion.
When it was first opened, the bridge operated as a toll road. The toll fee ranged from Rp30.000-90.000 for cars and larger vehicles depending on vehicle class, while motorcycles were charged Rp3.000. The motorcycle toll was abolished in 2015, while car tolls were reduced by 50% in 2016. Finally, in 2018, the Suramadu Bridge was converted from a toll road into a non-toll public road, allowing all vehicles to cross free of charge.
The construction of the bridge aimed to stimulate economic development on the island. However, nearly two decades after its opening, the economic growth has been considered slower than expectation. In 2019, the poverty rate in Bangkalan remained among the highest in East Java. Moreover, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of Madura’s four regencies continued to lag behind other surrounding regencies of Surabaya such as Sidoarjo and Gresik. A previous study suggested that much of the economic improvement was driven by remittances from increased labor mobility rather than the growth of local industries.
Suramadu successfully connected Madura to Java, but the economic transformation of Madura requires more than just physical connectivity.
Sources:
- https://tirto.id/berdirinya-jembatan-suramadu-penyambung-jawa-dan-madura-cLK7
- https://www.kompas.id/artikel/penggratisan-jembatan-tol-suramadu-harus-mampu-bangkitkan-ekonomi-madura
- Heriqbaldi, U., Wardana, W.W., Jamil, I.R., Basconcillo, J.A.Q., and Taniu, S. (2025). Bridging the gap: The impact of suramadu bridge provision on poverty reduction in Madura Island, Indonesia. Social Sciences & Humanities Open 12, 101740.
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