Flight services may be moved to Halim<\/p>\n
TANGERANG (JP): The government and authorities of Soekarno-
\nHatta International Airport are considering temporarily moving
\nseveral flight services to Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in
\nEast Jakarta, an airport official said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The idea to (temporarily) move some flights to Halim
\nPerdanakusuma airport came from Minister of Communications Lt.
\nGen. Agum Gumelar,\" Haryadi Abidin, administrator of the
\nSoekarno-Hatta International Airport, said at his office.<\/p>\n
Haryadi said Agum would hold a meeting with officials
\ninvolved, including the director general of air transportation
\nand administrators and managers of several airports, on Friday to
\ndiscuss alternatives to deal with disruption after part of the
\ntoll road to Soekarno-Hatta airport was inundated in recent days.<\/p>\n
Haryadi did not disclose whether the government or his office
\nset a deadline for implementing the plan.<\/p>\n
Floodwaters covered 2.5 kilometers of the toll road at KM 26
\nand KM 27 for a third day on Thursday. The road, with water
\nlevels reaching one meter on Tuesday, has only been passable by
\nbuses and trucks. Motorists heading to the airport had to leave
\ntheir vehicles parked on dry parts of the road and take Damri
\npublic buses, or join bumper-to-bumper traffic on the narrow
\nalternative roads.<\/p>\n
Flight crews, airline passengers and others seeking to reach
\nthe airport continued to be inconvenienced on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Several airlines, including flag carrier Garuda Indonesia,
\ndelayed their flight departures. Others, such as Lufthansa, said
\nthey were able to plan ahead in using alternative routes to avoid
\nflight delays on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Haryadi said the international airport recorded delays of
\nbetween 80 percent and 90 percent of the total flights from
\nTuesday to Thursday.<\/p>\n
Some flights were canceled, he added.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, one flight each of Garuda Indonesia, Mandala and
\nBouraq airlines were canceled and a total of 139 flights delayed.<\/p>\n
Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri was one of those
\ninconvenienced when her Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong took
\noff half an hour late.<\/p>\n
An official from the Jakarta Public Works Agency said on
\nThursday that the agency planned to construct a canal to help
\ndrain water on sections of the toll road.<\/p>\n
\"We will start the work in a day or two,\" the head of the
\nagency, Fadly Katib, said.<\/p>\n
The canal measuring 1.5 kilometers long and six meters wide
\nwould be constructed between the \"Angke and Tunjungan rivers\", he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Fadly gave no further explanation as he hurriedly got into his
\ncar. The name of the latter river could not be found on the city
\nmap.<\/p>\n
The project, he said, was to extend the existing three-meter
\ncanal constructed by PT Jasa Marga toll road operator at the
\nsite.<\/p>\n
Fadly did not explain the depth of the planned canal and the
\nestimated cost of the project.<\/p>\n
But he said the project was a must in order to avoid further
\ndamage to the toll road.<\/p>\n
Fadly predicted it would take 1.5 months for the water to
\nrecede.<\/p>\n
His remarks on the planned canal and prediction for the
\nflooding to end conflicted with statements on Wednesday by State
\nMinister of Public Works Rozik Boedioro Soetjipto and his senior
\nstaff.<\/p>\n
The minister said his office would soon propose the central
\ngovernment build an adequate alternative road to the airport.<\/p>\n
\"It might take the form of an elevated road stretching the
\nflooded part of the toll road,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The minister's deputy for regional infrastructure, Asrap
\nHadiroso, said the elevated road would be 2.5 kilometers long and
\ncost some Rp 25 billion (US$3.57 million) per kilometer.<\/p>\n
Rozik said the road at the inundated spots gradually sank to
\nsome 80 centimeters since it was constructed 15 years ago.<\/p>\n
Rozik and Asrap disclosed that the toll road was hurriedly
\nconstructed without fulfilling the standard procedures,
\nparticularly in the now flooded areas where the land structure
\nwas poor.<\/p>\n
\"According to the initial schedule, the construction of the
\ntoll road would be finished in 1985, instead of 1984. But the
\nairport was already completed in 1984,\" Asrap said.<\/p>\n
Monsoon conditions in the Jakarta Bay and heavy rain which
\ndrenched the city since Monday evening contributed to the
\nflooding.<\/p>\n
The inundated sections of the toll road are located in a
\nswampy area which was formerly the site of mangrove forests.<\/p>\n
An alternative route to the airport is through Jl. Daan Mogot
\nin Tangerang and through Jl. Pembangunan 3, Jl. Marsekal
\nSuryadarma. Another is via Jl. Jurumudi - Jl. Daan Mogot in West
\nJakarta. (41\/05\/bsr)<\/p>",
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