Indonesia has launched a new improvement project in an effort to improve travel times and safety for motorists on the West Kalimantan highway.

The 31.5km Pontianak-Tayan road stretch upgrade, a key link in the highway, is being financed by Australia, according to bernama.com.

Over 500 cars, trucks and motorbikes use the highway daily. The upgrade is expected to increase this number as it would allow motorists to choose the upgraded roads over longer alternative routes.

The project is one of 20 road and bridge upgrading projects in nine provinces in eastern Indonesia being funded by Australia with a A$300m ($276m) concessional loan and a A$30m ($27.6m) grant.