Transportation experts divided over MRT system<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The proposed Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system for
\nthe capital remains the subject of acrimonious debate, with
\nexperts weighing in on everything from the project's economic
\nfeasibility to its environmental impacts.<\/p>\n
In the latest round of discussion, transportation engineering
\nexpert Alan Marino said the government must begin the MRT project
\nas soon as possible, because it not only would address the city's
\ntraffic problems but also revive the construction sector.<\/p>\n
Alan said Jakarta would always be a large city with millions
\nof residents.<\/p>\n
The capital has a population of about nine million, though
\nthis figure swells to about 12 million during the day.<\/p>\n
\"Buses and other forms of public transportation can no longer
\naccommodate the people, and traffic jams are getting dreadfully
\nbad,\" Alan told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview over the
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
An MRT system, he said, would enable people to travel a
\ndistance of 20 kilometers to 30 kilometers in less than an hour.<\/p>\n
\"Now it can take two hours to cover this same distance,\" Alan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The problem, he said, is that the government continues to
\ninsist that transportation projects must be as economical as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
\"They are afraid that if they set the fares too high, people
\nwill not be able to afford it. That is not true.\"<\/p>\n
The existing public transportation system is not economical,
\nAlan asserted.<\/p>\n
\"People often have to change buses, motorcycle taxis and
\npublic minivans to reach one place. That costs them a lot but
\nthey can afford it. So the point is how to arrange proportional
\nfares.\"<\/p>\n
When the government increased the fares for trains in the
\ncity, there was no fall in the number of passengers, he said.<\/p>\n
The government has been studying the possibility of
\nconstructing an MRT system since 1992, with a view to resolving
\ntraffic congestion in the capital.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso has stated the MRT project tops his
\nadministration's list of priorities, and has vowed to push the
\nproject forward as soon as he receives the approval of President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
However, the director for international affairs at Japan's
\nTeito Rapid Transit Authority, Kunio Kawakamian, warned recently
\nthat the MRT project has a low feasibility.<\/p>\n
But Alan is optimistic the project will yield profits. \"This
\ncountry is certainly in a crisis, but toll road projects, for
\ninstance, have proven profitable.\"<\/p>\n
\"(The MRT) is indeed a big project, but I believe that
\ninvestors will come, especially foreign ones.\"<\/p>\n
Alan said he believed the MRT project would revive the
\ncapital's construction sector and create a great number of new
\njobs.<\/p>\n
He said a similar project in Chile several years ago created
\nwork for some 60,000 to 70,000 people.<\/p>\n
Separately, an environmental expert from Bandung's Padjadjaran
\nUniversity, Otto Soemarwoto, warned that the construction of an
\nMRT system could increase flooding in the city.<\/p>\n
According to Otto, numerous construction projects in the city
\nfail to take into consideration such factors as if or how the
\nland will settle.<\/p>\n
\"Engineers often forget to factor into their construction
\nplans how much the land will subside. An example is the toll road
\nin Cengkareng, West Jakarta, where the land has subsided, causing
\nfloods every year,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
He urged the authorities to take into consideration every
\nangle of the MRT project. \"If the whole project works well, we
\nwill enjoy many benefits. Traffic jams will decrease and so will
\nair pollution.\" (hdn)<\/p>",
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