Executive ruling on MRT

Executive ruling on MRT

The mass rapid transit (MRT) project in Jakarta appears to be
going the same way most other lucrative government projects have
gone in recent years. It has become the subject of a battle
between politically well-connected business groups.

The MRT system is long overdue for Jakarta with a population
of more than nine million people (15 million in the greater
Jakarta area) and where traffic congestion seems to grow worse
each day. City officials admit that the project should have
started last year. Now all indications are that construction of
the project -- that will link Blok M in the south and downtown
Kota in the northwest -- will begin this year.

However, the city administration is yet to decide on which
system to use: a subway or an elevated rail track. A final
decision has been delayed because of behind-the-scene pressures
the two powerful bidders are facing.

There is the Citra business group, led by daughter Siti
Hardiyanti Rukmana, which is proposing an elevated light railway
transit as part of a three-layer system including toll roads and
arterial roads, for a total cost of Rp 5.8 trillion. There is the
Indonesian Japan European Group consortium, led by businessman
Aburizal Bakrie and now involving Bambang Trihatmodjo, who joined
in July. The consortium is proposing a subway system costing Rp
4.5 trillion.

Until late last year, the subway project looked all but
certain, with city officials saying it was only waiting for an
executive ruling from President Soeharto. Aburizal is still
hopeful that the project will begin in April and will be
completed by August 2001.

But this month, the picture changed with the announcement that
Citra Group plans to build the triple-layer system sooner than
expected. Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar said
construction could go ahead without an executive decision and
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said the 1993
Train Law ensures the Perumka railway company has the right to
operate the proposed light rail.

Their statements were an indication that a presidential decree
was not needed and Citra could go ahead with the project. But
Deputy Governor TB. Rais insists on an executive ruling for a
national project of this scale, be it a subway or an elevated
railway.

For most of us, the behind-the-scenes battle is too complex to
grasp. But what is certain is that there can only be one winner.
Jakarta cannot sustain both projects, when the city
administration is not even clear how it intends to pay back the
huge capital outlay for the project. The idea that user-fees can
quickly repay investment is dangerous because it defeats the very
purpose of the MRT -- to provide an efficient, convenient and
cheap means of transport for Jakarta residents.

Whatever system the city chooses, it had better make up its
mind quickly because the cost seems to be escalating with the
delay.

For the majority of us, it is not important who builds the
project eventually. What is concerning is that whichever system
is chosen, it has to be the best for the public, not just the
commuters who will use the system. The project has to satisfy the
taxpayers and local ratepayers who will bear the brunt of the
costs of repaying such a huge investment.

Competition is good by all means and the more bidders for
government projects or contracts, the better. But what is more
important in the MRT project, is a greater transparency in the
way decisions are made so that the final choice is really the
best one for the public.