Delays raise costs of Pulogebang bus terminal

Delays raise costs of Pulogebang bus terminal

JAKARTA (JP): The construction cost of the planned 7.1-hectare
bus terminal in Pulogebang, East Jakarta, has swollen to Rp 13
billion from Rp 7 billion after a five-year delay.

Hajid, president of PT Rodial Eron, the contractor in charge
of the terminal project, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the
deal between the city administration and the company was signed
in 1990. "But because we had to delay the project until next
year, we have had to revise the project cost."

The new bus terminal Pulogebang, located some 10 kilometers
east of Pulogadung, will replace the dilapidated and outdated
Pulogadung station.

PT Rodial Eron has agreed to provide a 7.1-hectare plot for
the new terminal and finance the project. In return, the company
was granted the 3.5 hectares of land where the current Pulogadung
bus station stands, which the developer plans to turn into
shopping and office complexes.

The five-year delay was due to bureaucracy. "It took years for
us to obtain government approval for the project," said a company
official, who asked to remain anonymous.

Before official approval was obtained in 1992, the Kampung
Rambutan bus terminal case forced the contractor to slow its
schedule. The newly-inaugurated Kampung Rambutan bus terminal,
designed to replace the outdated Cililitan bus terminal in East
Jakarta, was partially damaged after the governor dedicated it on
Oct. 5, 1992. Public and government officials decried the
contractor's sloppy work, and accused city officials in charge of
collusion.

According to Hajid, the completion of the environmental
analysis impact and detailed study on traffic also took time.
"Prices over the past five years have been increasing, and the
project estimated at Rp 7 billion in 1990 has increased by some
Rp 6 billion."

The 3.5-hectare terminal compound will be divided into three
parts: 1.1 hectares for a bus pool, and the other 2.4 hectares
will be divided between inter-city and city bus terminals.

There are now 1,000 city buses serving 63 routes and 750
intercity buses plying 39 routes.

"The terminal is too small for that many buses, and the roads
around the terminals have been severely congested." (yazid)