JAKARTA. The ground-breaking ceremony for the Trans-Sumatra toll road development was slated to take place in late April in South Lampung regency, Lampung, a regency official said on Friday.

"The ground-breaking ceremony will be held around Bakauheni Port’s Pier IV," head of the administrative division at South Lampung regency secretariat, I Ketut Sukerta, said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The toll road will connect Bakauheni, South Lampung, to Terbanggi Besar, Central Lampung and continue to the border with South Sumatra.

So far, Sukerta said, the regency had consulted with the locals in three villages where the construction will be located: Bakauheni, Klawi and Hatta, and he claimed they were supportive of the project.

Dissemination sessions would also be held at all villages where the highway would be built, he continued.

Once the consultation and dissemination process was completed, Lampung Governor M Ridho Ficardo would designate the the final locations.

"Once the final location is designated, we will continue with land acquisition and price negotiation, which will be conducted by an independent team,." Sukerta said.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is scheduled to attend the event, as it is part of the national infrastructure project that is the priority of Jokowi administration.

Editor: Hendra Gunawan