City okays loan to operator of car testing center
City okays loan to operator of car testing center
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has approved a loan of Rp 6 billion (US$2.72 million) to PT Suar Adhika Wahana Ujindo, a privately owned company appointed to open a vehicle testing center.
An executive of the company, Kreshna H. Ismail, told reporters yesterday that approval of the loan enables the company to continue construction of the vehicle testing center project, which is projected to cost Rp 10 billion, in South Jakarta.
Originally, the company planned to open the new center early this year but the arduous, slow process of getting the loan has hindered its construction.
"With the loan we can continue the development and hopefully we will start operating in August," Kreshna said, adding that the test center, located on Jl. Srengseng Sawah, South Jakarta, will serve vehicle owners from South and Central Jakarta mayoralties.
PT Suar Adhika Wahana is one of two private companies, appointed by city administration in 1993, to open vehicle testing centers in 1993. PT Nakia, the other company, will operate in Kalideres, West Jakarta, to serve those from West and North Jakarta mayoralties.
The new centers are built under a build-operate-and-transfer basis, where the companies will divert the facilities to the city administration after 15 to 20 years of operation.
At present, vehicle tests are conducted only at the government-owned testing centers in Ujung Menteng and Pulogadung, East Jakarta.
The operation of the new testing centers means public transit vehicle drivers will not be forced to wait for hours or even days to get their vehicles tested for road-worthiness. It will take only 15 minutes to complete all the tests, for each vehicle, at the centers.
The tests cover exhaust emissions, speedometer, noise level, shock absorbers, brakes, wheel suspension, headlights and visual checking tests, Kreshna said.
Due to the fast process, no parking lots will be needed, Kreshna said, adding that the center will have five testing lanes, where each lane will be able to serve 160 vehicles a day.
Kreshna said each lane will be serviced by 10 personnel, five technicians from the City Land Transportation and Traffic Control Office and five computer operators from his company.
Currently, there are about 386,000 vehicles in the city which need testing, he said.
Kreshna also said that the testing fees are set at Rp 20,000 for four-wheel vehicles weighing three tons and over, Rp 18,000 for four-wheel vehicles under three tons and Rp 16,500 for three- wheel vehicles.
"Fees can be paid in cash prior to arriving at the entry point or at Bank DKI, which is owned by the city administration," Kreshna added. (yns)