President Joko Widodo and his entourage rode motorcycles through a smooth road in Toba highlands on Wednesday (2/2) from Sibisa crossroads, Toba Regency, to Bebas Parapat beach area, Simalungun Regency. The president wore a helmet, mask, and a green jacket with the G20 logo.

In addition to bodyguards, his ministers rode motorcycles right behind him. They were Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno. They rode through the sunlight and fresh air of the mountains.

“My ministers and I wanted to breathe some fresh air of Lake Toba. It was also to see the smooth condition of the road infrastructure. We checked earlier with 80% of them were smooth while the rest were a little bumpy. We have reported that to the PUPR Minister,” said President Joko Widodo in his statement at Bebas Parapat beach.

On that day, the president attended several events during his work visit to North Sumatra. The condition of Lake Toba tourism was one of his concerns. Therefore, he visited Parapat beach, one of Lake Toba’s destinations, easily accessible from Medan through Pematang Siantar, Simalungun Regency.

President Joko Widodo passed through an 11 km scenic route of Toba mountains. The group took about 15 minutes to reach an open area in Parapat with a playground, a skatepark, jogging tracks, a park, cafes, statues, and a plaza that serves as a performance arena.

President Joko Widodo visited and inaugurated the Rp84.6 billion worth of open area. He also inaugurated Parapat Wastewater Treatment Plant (IPAL). Due to the plant, Parapat’s wastewater, which used to go to the lake directly, is now processed first so that the water that reaches the lake is cleaner physically and chemically.

After the inauguration of public facilities in Parapat, President Joko Widodo and his entourage moved to Ajibata Ferry Port, Toba Regency. The port, located on Ajibata Bay, provides lake cruise services to Samosir Island through Lopo Parindo Tomok Port on the island.

The president also inaugurated six other ports that have been completed by the Transportation Ministry, including a port in Balige, the Toba Regency capital. Seven ports have been completed and six others are still in construction.

When the thirteen ports are done, the six regencies on the coast of Lake Toba will have facilities to cruise across the lake: four ports in Toba Regency, one port each in Simalungun Regency, North Tapanuli Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Karo Regency, and Dairi Regency. Surrounded by the six regencies, Samosir Island has four ports. Samosir Island will be easily accessible from all directions.

Not only through water, but Samosir Island will also be easily accessible through land routes. A bridge with a length of 1,200 meters is now under construction at Alur Tano Ponggol, a narrow gap that separates Samosir Island from the rest of North Sumatra land. It has now been dredged into an 80-meter-wide channel with a depth of 8 meters, while it was previously only 25 meters wide with a depth of 3 meters. The mass of water from the east and west side of Lake Toba interlocks through this channel.

A sizeable boat can now sail through the channel to go around Samosir Island with a route that almost reaches 300 km. On top of it, the Aek Tano Pongol bridge is hanging about 10 m from the water. The bridge is wider than the channel due to the land condition. Also, to provide space for parks under the bridge on both sides of the bridge. The bridge cost Rp320 billion.

This bridge is located on the west side of Lake Toba, while Parapat is on the east side. This artistic bridge will be accessible from Sidikalang (Dairi) to Tarutung (North Tapanuli).

Many Roads Lead to Toba

As a National Strategic Tourism Area, Lake Toba requires infrastructure to support such as access to Lake Toba. Several ongoing access constructions are a toll road from Tebing Tinggi to Parapat, the road from Tebing Tinggi to Pematangsiantar, and the road from Pematangsiantar to Parapat. These toll roads will make it easy for travelers to reach Toba from Medan.

The toll road from Medan to Tebing Tinggi is already in operation as part of Trans-Sumatra toll roads. There is a road branch from Tebing Tinggi leads to Parapat through Pematangsiantar. In addition to becoming a tourism route, these toll roads will serve as the heart of the North Sumatra economy. Aside from Medan, travelers can reach Lake Toba by flying directly to Sisingamangaraja XII (Silangit) Airport in Siborong-borong Subdistrict, North Tapanuli Regency. It became an international airport in 2017.

From Silangit, travelers can reach the Lake Toba area and Samosir Island through Balige port using ferry boats. Balige is a city with many resorts and hotels, only 60-km away from Parapat.

President Joko Widodo inspected the Balige-Parapat in his motorcycle as he wanted to ensure its safety for road users in the future. A road called Balige Bypass was to assure the smooth flow of traffic from Silangit Airport to Balige and Parapat.

The 9.8-km ring road is another option for visitors to enter the tourism area without passing through the heart of Balige, avoiding traffic congestion. PUPR Ministry built the Rp176 billion worth of ring road for five years.

The Transportation Ministry also provided four ferries. The handover of these ferries was carried out concurrently with the inauguration of seven ports on Lake Toba. The four ferries consist of two water buses called Asa-Asa and Jurung-Jurung and two other ferries called KMP Kaldera Toba and KMP Pora-Pora. These four ferries complement another ferry that has been in operation in Lake Toba called KMP Ihan Batak. These boats are to serve the needs of travelers.

Tourism in Lake Toba showed an encouraging development throughout the years. Before the pandemic, 1.74 million domestic tourists and 122,000 international tourists visited Toba in 2018. On average, foreign tourists spent US$600 per person per visit. Domestic tourists spent Rp700,000 on average per person per visit if they stayed at a hotel, and Rp400,000 on average if they stayed at a relative’s house. 30% of 1.74 million local tourists stay at relatives’ houses.

Tourism and Economic Creative Ministry projected 230,000 foreign tourists to visit Toba in 2025, while local tourists at 2.83 million people. Income from local tourists is estimated to rise from around Rp1 trillion in 2018 to Rp2 trillion in 2025. Income from foreign tourists is estimated from US$73 million in 2018 to US$161 million in 2025.

As President Joko Widodo urged tourism stakeholders in Lake Toba to continue improving their competitiveness, physical facilities around Lake Toba are improved. He also urged them to promote Lake Toba to convince the tourism market of the appeal, ease of access, and excellent service quality of Toba tourism. Lake Toba, an area 900 meters above sea level, has art and cultural explorations to provide additional tourist attractions.

“I saw that there has been a thorough improvement. The tourism (and Creative Economy) Minister will rebuild the region’s image through rebranding. Therefore, Lake Toba and other tourist destinations have their distinctive superiority. I see a large potential in the Lake Toba area,” said President Joko Widodo.

Writer: Putut Trihusodo
Editors: Ratna Nuraini/Elvira Inda Sari/Wilda Stiana
Translator: Wisnu Wardoyo