The construction of a bridge of this kind would have numerous implications, including for the management of ship movements through the Malacca Straits, one of the busiest shipping channels in the world.[2]
Timeline
In March 2013 during a visit to China, Germany, Russia and Japan, president
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia said that the construction of the planned
Sunda Strait Bridge would have priority. He said that four years earlier he had turned down a request from Malaysia to support the construction of the Malacca Strait Bridge because the construction of such a bridge would facilitate the depletion of resources in Sumatra "by Asia".[3]
On 15 October 2013, the
Malacca State Government revived the controversial 48-kilometre-long (30 mi) Malacca-Dumai, Indonesia, bridge project across the Straits of Malacca, after a seven-year lull.[4] The
Exim Bank of China was reportedly prepared to fund up to 85% of the cost of the project (estimated at US$14 billion) with the rest of the financing being provided from regional sovereign funds and private investors.[5]
Strait of Malacca connects Pacific Ocean (east) with Indian Ocean (west)