Crisis throws into limbo Jakarta's megaprojects

By Hyginus Hardoyo

JAKARTA (JP): Jakartans' dreams for the long-awaited triple- tier transit system, badly needed to reduce traffic congestion, are unlikely to come true in the near future.

A groundbreaking ceremony for construction early this year was rescheduled at the eleventh hour.

PT Citra Moda Margakencana, developer of the Rp 6.2 trillion project, decided in February to delay the start of construction due mainly to March's General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to elect the new president and vice president.

The enterprise is a joint venture of PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, owned by former president Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, the state railway company (Perumka) and state-owned highway corporation PT Jasa Marga.

Soeharto was expected to attend the ceremony at the Bendi Park in South Jakarta to mark the start of the project, which would include 23.6 kilometers of toll roads and 22km of light-rail tracks connecting Kebayoran Lama in the south to Kota in the north.

The developer announced it would postpone the groundbreaking ceremony until the General Session was over, but nothing else has been heard of its fortunes, particularly since the New Order government's sudden downfall in May.

Preparations for the startup were well underway, including the controversial removal of hundreds of trees planted earlier as part of the city's regreening program.

The developer replanted the trees after Governor Sutiyoso protested that their removal flouted the city's environmental efforts.

Under the plan, the triple-tier system will consist of four main stations -- Ulujami, Kebayoran Lama and Blok M, all in South Jakarta, and Kota -- and 16 secondary ones.

The system, expected to be completed in 2001, has been delayed several times. In 1997, the developer was expected to start work in June, but later postponed it until December.

By year's end, the developer announced the construction would start two months later, only for it to be thrown into further limbo when February rolled around.

Warm welcome

City councilors had warmly welcomed the plan to go ahead with the construction of the triple-tier transit system.

"I think the project is very positive. This city badly needs mass, rapid transportation to support people's mobility," Lukman Mokoginta, one of the councilors, said.

Achmad Suaidy, another councilor, said the project must be dedicated to serving the public's needs.

"I strongly support the effort to cure Jakarta's traffic problems. This project is one of the best alternatives."

Only a few large-scale projects in the city were not postponed or rescheduled early this year by developers despite the prolonged economic crisis.

In line with the sweeping changes in the political situation in the country, the other projects -- including the ambitious reclamation along the northern coast and the development of Jonggol into a township -- eventually ground to a halt as well.

The only major project likely to continue is the subway connecting Blok M in South Jakarta and Kota. The government announced recently that its construction would continue under the financing of Japanese companies, but details on its preparation remain unavailable.

The government was forced in October to revoke three presidential decrees signed by former president Soeharto on the reclamation of North Jakarta Bay and Kapuk Naga coast in Tangerang and the Jonggol development in West Java out of fear their implementation would only result in malfeasance and corruption, collusion and nepotism.

"The decrees used to regulate the projects are too high," said State Minister of Agrarian Affairs/Chairman of the National Land Agency Hasan Basri Durin.

Deviation

Malfeasance which might arise from the implementation of the projects, he said, could come in the form of deviation from the city's planning regulations and preferential treatment in the granting of facilities.

"That's why the three decrees were revoked," Hasan said.

Among developers for the Jakarta Bay reclamation project was PT Manggala Krida Yudha, a private company owned by Soeharto's youngest daughter Siti Hutami Adiningsih. The company had been allowed to reclaim 500 hectares for the construction of the Ancol Baru project.

Other contractors selected for the bay project include PT Mandira Permai and PT Kapuk Naga Indah.

The Pantai Indah Kapuk waterfront project, developed by Mandira Permai, was scheduled to be completed in 2002.

Kapuk Naga Indah, a subsidiary of the widely diversified Salim business group, was conducting reclamation work on 674 hectares north of Pantai Kapuk in the western part of the Jakarta Bay reclamation zone, which covered a total area of 2,700 hectares.

The reclamation project was scheduled to be completed within 15 years.

The Ministry of Forestry and Plantations requested earlier that the 30,000-hectare Jonggol township project linked to one of Soeharto's sons be put on hold until the developer settled a dispute with the ministry.

PT Bukit Jonggol Asri, the developer of the township project located in the Jonggol district of Bogor, about 30 kilometers southeast of Jakarta, is believed to have failed to meet its obligation to provide forest areas in exchange for the site used for the project.

According to the plan, the Jonggol self-sufficient city was designed to be the biggest housing project in Greater Jakarta.

"The three projects, however, can go on if the governors and the local administrations consider that they do not deviate from the existing planning regulations and, last but not least, the developers agree to continue the projects," Hasan said.