Citra Moda tallies houses to be cleared

JAKARTA (JP): The developer of the three-tier transit system, linking Bintaro in South Jakarta to downtown Kota, is currently calculating the number of houses to be cleared for construction of the Rp 6.2 trillion (US$1.87 billion) project.

The deputy director of PT Citra Moda Margakencana Persada, Bambang Soeroso, said yesterday that a special team -- comprising municipality officials and representatives of Citra Moda -- has started its tally in the Tanah Abang area.

Citra Moda is a consortium jointly established by PT Citra Lamtorogung Persada -- owned by President Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana -- state-owned railway company Perumka and state-owned highway corporation PT Jasa Marga.

"We can't reveal the exact number of families to be affected by the project. We're still assessing it," Bambang said.

The governor issued Gubernatorial Decree No.1550/1997 for land use and road expansion in order to expedite the construction of the project, which will include an elevated toll road, artery roads and a light-rail system," he said.

The new decree contained detailed instructions about land use appropriation for the project.

"In line with the decree, we have completed the basic design and final plan, plus the soil investigation survey."

Bambang said the company had explained the project to people living in some of the affected areas.

"I think the public must understand the importance of this project, despite the fact that they have to move their houses."

The housing inventory will concentrate on the densely populated areas to be affected by the project's second stage -- spanning between Kota and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta.

"The first phase of the development between Tanah Abang and Bintaro, which will commence next February, is easy because the plot belongs to Perumka," he said. The second stage will start in 2001.

Bambang said the company had tried to compensate those who will be evicted from their land by offering them low-cost apartments to be built by the municipality.

"But many of them have rejected the idea and asked for monetary compensation based on the current land prices instead," he said.

Bambang said the project will be financed by foreign funding (40 percent), local banks (40 percent) and Citra Moda (20 percent). But the consortium is still looking for interested investors, including the municipality.

"We hope that the municipality intends to join this project by allowing itself to become one of the shareholders. But it depends on the municipality's policy."

There are two ways for the municipality to become an investor, he said.

"First is to give money to the consortium or (second) to integrate its fly-over projects with the three-tier transit system. It's up to the city to decide."

The project will include 23.65 kilometers of toll roads and 20.25 kilometers of light-rail tracks with 17 stations along the routes: Pondok Ranji, Bintaro Jaya, Bintaro Permai, Ulujami, Bendi, Kebayoran Lama, Simprug, Gelora, Palmerah, Gatot Subroto, Tanah Abang, Kebon Sirih, Majapahit, Sukarjo, Mangga Besar, Glodok and Kota.

"At every station there will be commercial sites and other supporting facilities," he said.

By the year 2002, the light-rail system should be able to accommodate about 12,000 passengers per hour per route.

"This project is one of the most effective ways to solve traffic congestion in the city," he added. (07)