Developer confident of monorail's timely opening<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
PT Jakarta Monorail is confident it will be able to finish
\nconstruction of the new monorail on schedule, including the
\ncompletion of the monorail's \"green line\", which is scheduled to
\nopen by the end of 2006.<\/p>\n
\"So far, we don't see any significant problems that will
\nhamper the project due to the simultaneous assembling of the cars
\nand the construction of the rail lines,\" PT Indonesia Transit
\nCentral (ITC) director Sukmawaty Sjukur told The Jakarta Post on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
PT ITC -- comprised of local companies PT Adhi Karya, Global
\nProfex Synergy and PT Radiant Pillar Pacific -- owns a 55 percent
\nstake in PT Jakarta Monorail. The remaining 45 percent stake
\nbelongs to British-based consortium Omnico, which includes Omnico
\nHoldings Ltd., Hitachi Asia Ltd. and four technology partners
\nfrom Singapore.<\/p>\n
Sukmawaty said a total of 127 cars would be assembled at
\nHitachi in Japan at the same time the developer was carrying out
\nthe construction of the rail lines here.<\/p>\n
\"When the construction of the rail lines is complete, we will
\nbe ready to import the cars,\" she said, adding that the
\nconsortium would require between 20 and 25 months to finish the
\nimport process for the monorail cars.<\/p>\n
She also divulged that the developer had obtained about US$150
\nmillion (about Rp 1.41 trillion) in equity to finance the project
\nfor at least the next three months.<\/p>\n
\"We will obtain loans in September. The loans will be in
\nrupiah and US dollars,\" she said, declining to elaborate on the
\nsource of the loans.<\/p>\n
PT Jakarta Monorail plans to raise the lion's share of the
\nestimated $630 million required for the project, or $480 million,
\nthrough soft loans.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri presided over a ceremony on
\nJune 14 to mark the beginning of the project, with the first pile
\nbeing driven into the ground on Jl. Asia Afrika in Senayan,
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
However, the Post observed on Sunday that little progress has
\nbeen made since that ceremony. Along the median strips of Jl.
\nAsia Afrika and Jl. Gerbang Pemuda, construction piles remain
\nstacked up waiting to be driven into the ground. The developer
\nplans to erect eight piles along each of the roads.<\/p>\n
PT Jakarta Monorail president director Ruslan Diwirjo said the
\ncompany had to make some changes in response to noise complaints.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to use bore piles instead of hammering the piles
\ninto the ground in order to reduce the noise .... The change is
\nin response to complaints from the management of the Hotel Mulia
\nSenayan,\" Ruslan said.<\/p>\n
About 900 construction piles will be erected along the 27-
\nkilometer monorail route.<\/p>\n
When completed, the monorail will consist of two lines, the
\n14.8-kilometer \"green line\" and the 12.2-kilometer \"blue line\".<\/p>\n
The green line, which will have 17 stations, will serve
\nlucrative business areas in the city including Kuningan, Sudirman
\nand Senayan. The blue line, which will have 13 stations, will
\nconnect eastern areas of the city such as Kampung Melayu and Roxy
\nto western Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The green line is expected to be operational by December 2006
\nand the blue line in early 2007.<\/p>\n
The monorail system will be capable of ferrying up to 270,000
\npassengers per day, with fares ranging between Rp 3,500 and Rp
\n7,500 for a one-way trip.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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