City needs President's nod in highway project

City needs President's nod in highway project

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta administration is seeking approval from President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for its plan to develop seven inner city
toll roads, as authority to build and manage highways is in
central government's hands.

"We are preparing a letter, which will be sent by the governor
to the President this week, requesting greater authority to build
highways," assistant to the city secretary for development
affairs, Hari Sandjojo, said on Thursday at City Hall.

Hari said that the administration could not as yet proceed
with the development of the highways since both Law No. 38/2004
on roads and Government Regulation No. 15/2005 on highways
stipulate that development of highways is the responsibility of
the central government.

"We want those regulations to be synchronized with the spirit
of (regional) autonomy so that the (Jakarta provincial)
administration can develop highways as well as manage them," said
Hari.

To date, all toll road projects have been built by the central
government and managed by PT Jasa Marga as the toll road
operator.

Those seven routes are Bekasi-Kampung Melayu, Kampung Melayu-
Tomang, Pasar Minggu-Casablanca, Rawabuaya-Sunter, Sunter-
Pulogebang, Kemayoran-Kampung Melayu, Ulujami-Tanah Abang, and
Kampung Melayu-Tomang-Duri Pulo.

The administration has appointed city-owned developers Jakarta
Propertindo and PT Pembangunan Jaya to represent the
administration in the project worth Rp 23 trillion (US$2.4
billion) that will be wholly financed by private investors.

According to Hari, the administration has also garnered
support from the city council over the project.

"We plan to present a detailed plan of the toll road to the
council," he added.

City council's commission D overseeing transportation and
development affairs, Muhayar Rustamudin, said the council called
on the administration to immediately revise the city's master
plan to accommodate changes made in urban spaces as well as
transportation infrastructure.

"The city's master plan has yet to accommodate the planned
highways and railway line heading to the (Soekarno-Hatta
International) Airport, which all would be built starting next
year," said Muhayar.

State railway company PT Kereta Api plans to expedite the
development of 33-kilometer long railway line connecting the
Manggarai station in South Jakarta and the airport.

The project, worth some Rp 1.4 trillion, will be jointly
financed by PT KAI and airport operator Angkasa Pura II.

The Jakarta administration said that City Planning Agency was
preparing a revision to the city's master plan, which would
include new changes, such as the planned toll roads.

Transportation experts have warned that the 85-kilometer
highways would not alleviate traffic headaches in the city, and
could in fact even worsen the current situation.

Soetanto Soehodho of the University of Indonesia's Center for
Transportation Studies recommended that the administration
prioritize the development of public transportation systems
rather than highways in order to better cater to the needs of
Jakarta residents for on-time and affordable transportation.

According to Soetanto's estimate, the construction of the
subway, which would serve more residents than the highways, would
only cost between Rp 150 billion and Rp 200 billion per
kilometer, much cheaper than the elevated toll roads worth Rp 270
billion per kilometer.