City to form subway management unit
City to form subway management unit
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said yesterday that
city administration is currently preparing the establishment of a
project management unit to be in charge of handling construction
of Indonesia's first subway system.
"As governor I will be responsible for the construction of the
project, but its day-to-day implementation will be supervised by
the vice governor of economics and development, Tb. Rais, who
will be appointed as the unit's executive chairman," Surjadi said
after attending an integrated meeting on preparations for the
commemoration of Indonesia's 50th anniversary of independence
day.
Yesterday's integrated meeting was attended by members of city
council, the city's five mayors, vice governor of governmental
affairs, Idroes, and chairman of the national committee for the
commemoration of Indonesia's independence, Cacuk Sudarjanto.
Surjadi said that members of the project management unit will
consist of officials from city administration and representatives
of the Ministries of Public Works and Transportation, as well as
the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.
"We have selected a number of people to be installed in the
unit and are currently in the process of asking for permission
from the related institutions," he said.
Approvals for the selection of the unit's members are expected
to be completed later this week, he said, adding that the
completion of the unit's membership will be accompanied by the
issuance of a governor decree.
A subway system is considered the most suitable choice for
providing a better public transportation means and to help solve
the increasingly complicated traffic problems in the city. A
proposal for the construction of the subway system, which is
estimated to cost about US$1.3 billion, was approved by President
Soeharto last February.
Surjadi said that city administration wants to start
construction of the project as soon as possible, but compiling
the unit's membership took more time than expected, due to the
involvement of a number of institutions with their own
bureaucracy and administration.
"These obstacles are hindering the project, and we are
starting later than we expected," he said.
As soon as the basic design for the subway system is
completed, the government will form a consortium of state-owned
companies, city-owned firms as well as foreign and local
enterprises to finance the construction of the project.
Surjadi said that to build the 14-kilometer subway system
requires a great deal of funding. "The only way is to form a
consortium to finance the project."
According to the project's proposal, the development,
operation and maintenance of the subway system will be handled by
the public company Jakarta Metro Corporation, under a build-
operate-own plan.
About 30 percent of the US$1.3 billion investment will be
provided by the corporation as equity. The rest will be in loans.
About 30 percent of the corporation's equity will be invested
by the government, through state and city-owned companies, while
the rest will be covered by private companies.
The development of the subway system is expected to start by
the end of next year and be completed in the year 2000.
The project will be equipped with 15 stations, which will be
located in Panglima Polim, Blok M, Senopati, Senayan, Karet,
Setia Budi, Dukuh Atas, Hotel Indonesia, Wahid Hasyim, Monumen
National, Harmoni, Sawah Besar, Mangga Besar, Glodok and Kota.
Each station will be equipped with various facilities and
commercial centers. (31/yns)