Indonesia's PU Ministry Accelerates Restoration of 47 Disaster-Hit Bridges in Sumatra

The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PU) is accelerating the permanent rehabilitation and reconstruction of 47 bridges in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra that were damaged by disasters. This step is being taken to restore inter-regional connectivity after emergency access in the affected areas has been successfully restored. As of July 25, 2026, the ministry noted that 48 emergency bridges along 1,876.3 meters had been functioning. This emergency handling is the initial stage before the government builds permanently on 47 bridges with a total length of 3,932.1 meters. Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Dody Hanggodo, stated that the infrastructure restoration is being carried out gradually to ensure immediate recovery of community connectivity, while also ensuring that the rebuilt bridges are of better quality. "What we are pursuing is not only the reconnection of connectivity, but also ensuring that the infrastructure that is being rebuilt can provide safe and reliable services for the community," Dody was quoted as saying in a written statement on Tuesday, July 28. According to Dody, after emergency access was successfully restored, the government immediately continued with permanent rehabilitation and reconstruction so that the infrastructure's function could return to optimal and be able to support community mobility in the long term. Based on data from the ministry, emergency handling included 25 points in Aceh, consisting of 14 national bridges and 11 regional bridges. Furthermore, there were 13 points in North Sumatra, namely nine national bridges and four regional bridges, and 10 points in West Sumatra, consisting of seven national bridges and three regional bridges. Various methods are applied in emergency handling according to field conditions, ranging from the installation of bailey bridges and box culverts, handling of ramps, strengthening of structures, to cleaning of landslide materials and river channels. With temporary access restored, the PU Ministry is now working on the permanent rehabilitation and reconstruction of 47 bridges, with an average progress of 34.38 percent. The permanent handling includes 30 bridges in Aceh, consisting of 21 national bridges and nine regional bridges. Then, eight national bridges in North Sumatra, and nine bridges in West Sumatra, consisting of four national bridges and five regional bridges. A number of projects have even shown significant progress. In Aceh, the Lawe Mengkudu I Bridge and the Ulee Langa Bridge have recorded construction progress of over 90 percent. In West Sumatra, four bridges—Marga Yasa A, Marga Yasa B, Sungai Indarung, and Batang Lolo—have been 100 percent completed and are ready to support community activities again. The PU Ministry emphasized that it will continue to coordinate with local governments and all stakeholders to accelerate the rehabilitation of post-disaster infrastructure in Sumatra. This effort is expected to strengthen inter-regional connectivity, facilitate logistics distribution, support community mobility, and accelerate the recovery of social and economic activities in affected areas.