Council welcomes plan to develop city toll roads

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.