Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A legislator has urged the government to set up an independent team to investigate the collapse of the Kutai Kartanegara (Kukar) bridge over the Mahakam river in East Kalimantan.

"There must be sides which should be held responsible for the collapse of the bridge so that the government should set up an independent team to invest the case," Malkan Amin of the House Commission V said here on Wednesday.

Malkan, a former general chairman of the National Construction Service Development Institute (LPJKN), said that the team, which was composed of experts from universities, was expected to reveal the causes of the accident in a short period of time.

He said that actually it was not too difficult to reveal the causes of the collapse of the bridge because all documented facts were complete and what remained to be done was to fix them with the conditions in the field.

Malkan said that it was ironical to see the fact that a bridge which was only built ten years ago could collapse while many other bridges which were built during the Dutch colonial era were still strong and safe to be used until today.

He said that there were at least three phases of investigation that should be passed on, among others, parties involved in the construction and those involved in the maintenance.

The legislator said that in each of the phases there were planning a consultant, contractor and supervision consultant.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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