Overloaded and oversized freight trucks will be prohibited from using the toll roads between Jakarta and Bandung starting this month to reduce congestion and prevent damage to the roads, the Transportation Ministry has announced.

The ministry’s land transportation director general, Budi Setiyadi, said the ban affected the Tanjung Priok toll road in North Jakarta and the Cikampek toll that links Jakarta and major industrial areas in West Java.

“There should not be any ODOL [overloaded and oversized trucks] on toll roads between Jakarta and Bandung. We will discuss the technicalities today,” Budi said in Jakarta on Monday.

The statement was made following the ministry’s decision to delay such a ban on major highways across the country. to January 2023 from its initial schedule of January 2021.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in Jakarta on Feb. 24 that the government postponed the ban following demands from the industrial sector as the country is facing an economic slowdown.

“We actually wanted to impose the ODOL regulation. However, on the other hand, we are facing economic challenges due to the coronavirus epidemic that hit our industries,” the minister said according to a press release.

Despite the delay, the director general warned that shipping companies, truck dealers and assembling companies would “suffer losses” if they keep producing and using oversized trucks.

“The [existing] vehicle could not be registered for periodic test, while we wouldn’t issue SRUT [for newly produced trucks], so they could not be registered with the police,” he said.

SRUT is a license issued by the Transportation Ministry to vehicle manufacturers and assembling companies that certifies a vehicle’s roadworthiness and compliance with safety specifications.

The license is mandatory for vehicle owners to obtain the registration certificate (STNK) and vehicle ownership documents (BPKB) from the police.

Under Law No. 22/2009 on traffic and road transportation, drivers of oversized and overloaded trucks may be sentenced to two months in prison and fines of up to Rp 500,000 (US$34.76).

Article 277 of the law also stipulates that truck manufacturers and assembly companies that create or modify trucks to alter the original specifications can be sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of up to Rp 24 million.

However, weak law enforcement means many overloaded trucks are still on the roads.

Citing data from the Public Works and Housing Ministry, Budi said the government had to spend Rp 43 trillion annually to repair roads prematurely damaged by overloaded and oversized trucks. (mpr)