Jakarta Outer Ring Road project may resume next month<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) project may
\nresume next month, Minister of Settlement and Regional
\nInfrastructure Erna Witoelar said on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"If everything goes well between state-owned toll road company
\nPT Jasa Marga and Malaysia's DRB-Hi Com, the preparations for the
\nproject should be completed this month and the construction could
\nresume in February,\" Erna told a media briefing at her office
\nhere.<\/p>\n
The 63-kilometer JORR toll road project which will link all
\noutlying areas of Jakarta is designed to ease traffic congestion
\nin the capital.<\/p>\n
The total investment in the project is about Rp 5 trillion
\n(US$526.3 million), she said.<\/p>\n
\"Looking at the traffic congestion and the road condition in
\nJakarta, we have no choice but to build more roads.<\/p>\n
\"This way, those who can afford the toll charges can use the
\nring road and it will ease the traffic congestion in Jakarta,\"
\nErna said.<\/p>\n
The minister, however, declined to elaborate on the funds
\nallotted to clear the land for the project.<\/p>\n
\"We only have about Rp 800 billion .. we fear that if we give
\nout details, the land broker will take advantage of this and we
\nwill not have adequate funds to complete the project,\" she said.<\/p>\n
A special team involving the related offices, including the
\nJakarta administration, to deal with the land matters has been
\nset up.<\/p>\n
\"The Jakarta administration will help us in this matter
\nbecause the project concerns a lot of parties and therefore has
\nto be dealt with carefully,\" Erna said.<\/p>\n
The toll charges will be determined by the government.<\/p>\n
Erna also asserted that \"the project will not involve the
\nprevious investors\".<\/p>\n
JORR's initial investors, namely, PT Citra Mataram Satriamarga
\nPersada, PT Marga Nurindo Bhakti and PT Citra Bhakti Margatama
\nPersada, are linked to former president Soeharto's daughter Siti
\nHardijanti Rukmana, also known as Mbak Tutut.<\/p>\n
They had obtained a contract from Jasa Marga to operate the
\ntoll roads under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme before the
\ncrisis hit the country in mid-1997.<\/p>\n
The three investors financed the project with loans from local
\nbanks worth Rp 1 trillion. The loans was not honored after the
\ngovernment suspended the JORR project in 1998.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) then took over
\nthe three companies' nonperforming loans from the nationalized
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
IBRA and Jasa Marga then formed a joint venture, called New
\nCo, to continue the JORR project.<\/p>\n
New Co was founded to accommodate assets belonging to IBRA and
\nJasa Marga. Both parties plan to later convert their loans into
\nequity in the new company.<\/p>\n
The project's initial investors had only completely 40 percent
\nof the project when the economic crisis struck the country in the
\nmiddle of 1997, forcing the government to suspend work on the
\nventure.<\/p>\n
The remaining 60 percent of the project, at the time of
\nsuspension, was either in the construction or preparation stages.<\/p>\n
Government records show that parts of the project still
\nawaiting construction are roads to link Pondok Pinang and Kebon
\nJeruk road; Jagorawi and Cikunir; and Kebun Jeruk and
\nPenjaringan.<\/p>\n
Part of the ring road that will link Cikunir, Cilincing and
\nTanjung Priok are still in the preparation stages.<\/p>\n
PT Citra Bhakti Margatama Persada and PT Marga Nurindo Bhakti
\noperates the Cakung-Cikunir toll road and the Pondok Pinang-
\nLenteng Agung-Jagorawi toll road, respectively.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Erna also disclosed in the media briefing that her
\noffice had submitted to the government a housing subsidy draft of
\nRp 702 billion to cover the planned development of some 110,000
\nlow-cost houses.<\/p>\n
\"We will have a definite answer on this (low-cost housing
\nmatter) in the Cabinet's economic coordination meeting on
\nMonday,\" she added. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-outer-ring-road-project-may-resume-next-month-1447893297",
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