No cure for traffic headaches with transit project dormant<\/p>\n
By Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Construction of two large-scale mass
\ntransportation projects -- a subway and a triple-tier transit
\nsystem -- which are badly needed to reduce Jakarta's notorious
\ntraffic congestion, failed to be started this year as previously
\nscheduled.<\/p>\n
It is still unclear whether the current monetary crisis, which
\nhas put many building projects in the city on hold, will affect
\nthe two mass transportation projects as well.<\/p>\n
If this is so, it would be to the disappointment of many
\nJakartans who have desperately waited for efforts to ease the
\nexisting chaotic traffic condition.<\/p>\n
Driving in the city is a hassle. To drive a distance of only
\neight kilometers, which usually takes less than half an hour in
\nrelatively noncongested conditions, one needs an average of two
\nhours during peak hours.<\/p>\n
These traffic conditions reflect data from the municipality,
\nwhich shows that there are 2,165,200 vehicles in the city with
\nroads only totaling 5,907.95 kilometers in length.<\/p>\n
The growth rate in the number of cars is estimated at 14
\npercent a year, while the length of roads is increasing at less
\nthan 4 percent annually.<\/p>\n
Simply widening roads, constructing new ones or limiting
\ntraffic during certain hours on some roads are mere stopgap
\nmeasures that will not solve the problem in the long term, as
\npast experience has shown.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, there is no way to stop the emergence of new
\nsatellite cities in Jakarta's neighboring towns of Bogor,
\nTangerang and Bekasi, which has further complicated traffic since
\nthe majority of their inhabitants commute to Jakarta to work each
\nday.<\/p>\n
The city now houses 9.8 million people at night and 12 million
\npeople during the day, according to the municipality's data.<\/p>\n
Former Jakarta governor Surjadi Soedirdja, whose term of
\noffice ended in October, realized that the construction of the
\nsubway and the triple-tier transit system was vital for the city.<\/p>\n
\"The mass transportation projects are the only solution in
\nsolving the city's traffic woes,\" he reiterated on many
\noccasions.<\/p>\n
In January, he even expressed optimism that the subway
\nproject, which was initially proposed to connect Blok M in South
\nJakarta to Kota in West Jakarta, could start construction in
\nApril despite the absence of a presidential decree.<\/p>\n
Such a decree is important to determine which agency would be
\nin charge of managing the US$2.2 billion project.<\/p>\n
The 13.5 kilometer subway will be built jointly by the
\nmunicipality and a consortium of Indonesian, Japanese and
\nEuropean firms.<\/p>\n
Among the Indonesian investors, led by businessman Aburizal
\nBakrie, are PT Bakrie Investindo, PT Lippo, PT Pembangunan Jaya,
\nPT Bukaka\/PT Kuda Perkasa, PT Suthamthabie and PT Steady Safe.
\nThe Japanese firms are led by Itochu Corp., while the European
\nfirms are led by Germany's Ferrostaal AG.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo officially joined
\nthe Indonesian investors in April.<\/p>\n
A memorandum of understanding to construct the 14-station
\nsystem, which was proposed by a study team under the auspices of
\nthe Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, was
\nsigned in August 1995, while its basic design and feasibility
\nstudy were completed last year.<\/p>\n
Since Surjadi's remark in January, there has been no
\nindication from the government as to when construction would be
\nstarted.<\/p>\n
After receiving the government's green light on the project in
\nMarch, Bakrie said that the subway would be started in June. The
\napproval was given under several conditions, including a
\nstipulation that the government would not guarantee the loan.<\/p>\n
June has gone by, but construction has yet to begin on the
\nsystem which is designed to have a capacity of transporting
\n45,000 passengers per hour.<\/p>\n
Among the reasons blamed for the project's delay was a
\ndisagreement between the municipality and the consortium
\nregarding the subway's fares. The municipality wants fares to be
\nset at Rp 1,800, far below the consortium's Rp 5,000 proposed
\nfare.<\/p>\n
Bakrie denied that the issue of the fares was the main factor
\nhampering the project. He blamed the delay on a lack of effort by
\nrelated government ministries to further discuss the project with
\nthe consortium.<\/p>\n
Confusion over the project was further heightened in September
\nwhen the consortium proposed a new subway route: from Fatmawati
\nin South Jakarta to the National Monument (Monas) park in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The consortium's new proposal was made because its first
\ndesignated route, from Blok M to Kota, would overlap with the
\nplanned triple-tier transit system, which would connect Bintaro
\nin South Jakarta to Kota.<\/p>\n
Since then, little was heard about the subway until the new
\ngovernor, Sutiyoso, announced last month that the project would
\nbe constructed next year. But he failed to mention whether the
\nmunicipality had accepted the consortium's proposed new routes
\nand its Rp 5,000 fare.<\/p>\n
However, it was clear that Sutiyoso shared Surjadi's opinion
\nthat the subway was vital in solving the city's chaotic traffic
\ncondition.<\/p>\n
Triple-tier system<\/p>\n
The other mass transportation project is the triple-tier
\ntransit system which would combine an elevated toll road, light-
\nrail transit line and artery roads.<\/p>\n
Like the subway project, the system's construction has been
\ndelayed several times.<\/p>\n
In February, the head of the Rp 6.05 trillion project, Bambang
\nSoeroso, said construction was expected to be started in June,
\nbut he announced in April that its groundbreaking would be held
\nin December.<\/p>\n
Last month, Bambang announce a new schedule saying that
\nconstruction would be delayed for another two months because the
\ncompany faced difficulty in finding workers ahead of the Idul
\nFitri holiday.<\/p>\n
The system will be built by a joint-venture company, PT
\nCitramoda Margakencana Persada, comprising PT Citra Lamtoro Gung
\nPersada -- owned by President Soeharto's daughter Mrs. Siti
\nHardiyanti Rukmana -- along with state-owned railway company
\nPerumka and the state-owned highway corporation PT Jasa Marga.<\/p>\n
The company proposed a Rp 1,800 fare for the light rail
\ntransit system and a Rp 6,500 to Rp 10,000 price for the toll
\nroad. It also requested a concession period of 50 years,
\nexcluding the four-year construction time. The system is expected
\nto begin operating by 2001.<\/p>\n
Under the plan, the project would build 23.65 kilometers of
\ntoll road and 22 kilometers of light rail with 20 stops: four
\nmain stations and 16 secondary stations. The four main stations
\nwould be in Ulujami, Kebayoran Lama, Blok M -- all in South
\nJakarta -- and Kota.<\/p>\n
The light rail transit line, which would have two routes:
\nBintaro-Kebayoran Lama-Kota and Bintaro-Kebayoran Lama-Blok M-
\nKebayoran Lama-Kota, is designed to have a capacity of carrying
\n12,000 passengers an hour.<\/p>\n
On top of the unclear construction schedule of the two
\nprojects, the municipality and the consortium has yet to report
\nhow they planned to explain the projects to those affected by
\nconstruction.<\/p>\n
There also has been no explanation as to how the construction
\nof both projects would affect buildings and structures along and
\nabove the transportation systems. No maps of the subway system
\nhave yet been made public to support the project, along with
\ninformation on the construction's impact on traffic flows.<\/p>\n
By any measure, building both a subway and a transit system is
\nnot a small undertaking. The best we can do now is wait and see
\nhow things will work.<\/p>\n
But, as soon as we are trapped in the city's chaotic traffic
\njams, or squashed cheek to cheek with others on hot public buses,
\nno doubt we will wish that the plans to build these mass
\ntransportation projects will come to fruition.<\/p>",
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