Council welcomes plan to develop city toll roads

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The City Council has lent its support to the Jakarta administration's plan to construct 85 kilometers of inner city toll roads worth Rp 23.6 trillion, saying that it would help ease chronic traffic congestion in the national capital.

"This project will significantly alleviate the current severe traffic congestion, and is essential given that the administration's efforts to improve public transportation services are proceeding at a snail's pace," the chairman of the council's transportation and development commission, Sayogo Hendrosoebroto, said on Friday.

Sayogo claimed that the construction of the toll roads would not burden the taxpayer as they would be wholly financed by the private sector.

"There will be no need for the administration to dig deeper into its coffers to fund these projects," he asserted.

However, he warned that the administration should prepare the necessary measures to avoid traffic chaos during the construction stage.

Sayogo also proposed that the administration adopt electronic road pricing technology (ERP) instead of using ordinary toll gates so as to prevent traffic jams at the entry and exit points.

"With ERP technology, like they have in Singapore, motorists don't have to line up at the toll gate to pay in cash as electronic devices at the gates and fitted to vehicles automatically record how much the motorist must pay."

Councillor Wilson Sirait also voiced support for the plan.

"However, the administration will need to avoid conflicts with residents as a result of land acquisition for the project," he warned.

Wilson particularly warned about the need for caution in applying the powerful Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on land acquisition for the development of public infrastructure, which gives greater powers to the government to compulsorily acquire land in the public interest.

Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Thursday that the administration would apply the new regulation so as to expedite the acquisition of land for the toll road projects.

"We will use it should this be needed to accelerate the construction of infrastructure that will benefit both the public and the city in general," Fauzi said.

Governor Sutiyoso added on Friday that the plan would attract investors to Jakarta and therefore create more jobs for city residents, as well as resolve the city's traffic woes.

Sutiyoso acknowledged that the administration would have to consult with the central government before going ahead with the plan as Government Regulation No. 15/2005 on toll roads stipulates that the power to construct such highways is vested in the central government.

"We will coordinate with the relevant ministries and government institutions," he said.

If everything goes according to plan, the administration will start developing the six toll road corridors in March next year. The corridors have been identified as Bekasi to Kampung Melayu, Kampung Melayu to Tomang, Pasar Minggu to Casablanca, Rawabuaya to Pulogebang, Kemayoran to Kampung Melayu and Ulujami to Kota.

The administration says the new highways should be completed by 2009.