City seeks damages from Jasa Marga

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council asked state-owned PT Jasa Marga toll road operator on Tuesday to pay compensation to the Jakarta administration for damages caused by the presence of its toll roads, particularly the elevated ones, in the capital.

"Several toll roads' drainage systems are leaking, so that when rain falls water from the toll roads floods nearby roads," chairman of the council's Commission D on Development Affairs, Sayogo Hendrosubroto, told reporters after a meeting with Jasa Marga executives.

He said several roads, including Jl. Yos Sudarso, Jl. D.I. Panjaitan and Jl. Ahmad Yani, had been badly damaged due to the presence of elevated toll roads in the area.

"The company must pay penalties because of the damages," Sayogo said.

"This request is also based on the 1999 Law No. 22 on Regional Autonomy," he said, referring to the newly issued regulation which gives greater autonomy to local authorities.

During the meeting the council also proposed that the tariffs for Jakarta's toll roads be set by the city administration and council, instead of by the president.

"It doesn't need the president to make the decision because the city administration and council comprehend the residents' situation better," Sayogo said.

He also said the council wanted tariff changes to be conducted in an open and transparent way.

"It's our residents who have become the major users of the toll roads. So it is fair for us to set the tariff," he added.

He and his colleagues also urged Jasa Marga to improve its service, Sayogo said.

"We asked Jasa Marga, for example, to provide better road signs, security, traffic information and towing services for the users," Sayogo said.

"We also want the company to regreen more toll roads."

PT Jasa Marga, which recently proposed a rise in tariffs, has been repeatedly blamed for its lack of service to motorists using the toll roads. Long lines of cars can be seen daily at the entrance to toll roads in the capital. There have been seemingly no efforts from the company to solve the long-standing problem.

Another councilor Ali Imran Husein wanted the company to hand over the operation of the capital's toll roads to the administration as soon as possible.

"The city administration, as the owner, could ask Jasa Marga to operate the toll roads. It's simply like the existing system, where the central government, as the owner, orders the company to manage the toll road," Ali said.

In response, Jasa Marga's finance director Djadja Subagdja simply said it would be impossible at this time to hand over the operation of toll roads to the city administration as requested.

"We have to wait for technical guidance from the central government on the matter," he said.

Djadja said Jasa Marga operates 116 kilometers of toll roads in Jakarta, some 20 percent of the total toll roads across the country.

"Jasa Marga contributes Rp 12 billion (US$ 1.7 million) in land and building tax annually to the city administration, out of the city's total revenue of Rp 35 billion from land and building tax," he said.

The company recorded a net profit of Rp 100 billion by Sept. 31 this year, lower than last year's total profit of Rp 178 billion, he said.

"The drop is mainly due to demonstrations staged by students during the year," Djaja said. (05)