Unique Facts About Ampera Bridge

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Ampera Bridge is a bridge located in Palembang City which is visited by many tourists because of its beauty. This place is even used as a symbol of the city because it is located right in the middle of Palembang city.

This bridge is right above the Musi river, which connects the Seberang Ulu and Seberang Ilir areas. This bridge has lanes, reaching 1117 meters long and 22 meters wide. It weighs 994 tons, and is equipped with a bundle weighing 500 tons. This bridge is very suitable as a place to take pictures because of its beauty.

For those of you who want to see the beauty of this bridge, here are some unique facts about the Ampera Bridge.

This bridge was originally called the Bung Karno Bridge

Many do not know that in fact the origin of this bridge was named the Soekarno Bridge. Because this bridge was given as a public appreciation for the proclaimer of Indonesia’s first president, Ir. Soekarno.

However, President Sukarno did not agree with the naming of the bridge, because at that time there was also political upheaval. In 1996 in particular, the anti-Soekarno political wave was strong. Until finally the name of this bridge was made into the Ampera bridge.

Ampera stands for Amanat Penderitaan Rakyat, which is the slogan of the Indonesian nation in the 60s. Until now, the bridge that stretches over the Musi river is called the Ampera bridge.

Once the longest bridge in Southeast Asia

jembatan ampera

Another unique fact about the Ampera bridge is that this bridge was once the longest bridge in Southeast Asia. The length of this bridge reaches 1,117 meters, and at that time there was no bridge whose length rivaled the Ampera Bridge.

Even though it was built in 1962, this bridge was quite sophisticated in its time, because the center of the bridge can be lifted upwards. At that time there were still many ships crossing the Musi river. So that in order to cross, the Ampera bridge must be opened in the middle.

Since 1970, this has not been done anymore because it is quite disturbing the flow of traffic, and also rarely ships sailing on the Ampera river.

Fund for Bridge Construction from the Proceeds of War Loot

Another unique fact about this bridge is that the funds to build the bridge are claimed to come from the spoils of war. Since 1906, the idea to build a bridge over the Musi river has existed. However, this can never be realized.

In 1956, the Palembang City DPRD returned to this idea. The funds currently owned by the local area are only IDR 30 thousand. After the bridge construction committee team was formed, the funds were added from the Japanese war booty, which reached 2.5 billion Yen.

Until now, Ampera Bridge is still visited by many tourists from various regions.

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