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.