Flight services may be moved to Halim

TANGERANG (JP): The government and authorities of Soekarno- Hatta International Airport are considering temporarily moving several flight services to Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta, an airport official said on Thursday.

"The idea to (temporarily) move some flights to Halim Perdanakusuma airport came from Minister of Communications Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar," Haryadi Abidin, administrator of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, said at his office.

Haryadi said Agum would hold a meeting with officials involved, including the director general of air transportation and administrators and managers of several airports, on Friday to discuss alternatives to deal with disruption after part of the toll road to Soekarno-Hatta airport was inundated in recent days.

Haryadi did not disclose whether the government or his office set a deadline for implementing the plan.

Floodwaters covered 2.5 kilometers of the toll road at KM 26 and KM 27 for a third day on Thursday. The road, with water levels reaching one meter on Tuesday, has only been passable by buses and trucks. Motorists heading to the airport had to leave their vehicles parked on dry parts of the road and take Damri public buses, or join bumper-to-bumper traffic on the narrow alternative roads.

Flight crews, airline passengers and others seeking to reach the airport continued to be inconvenienced on Thursday.

Several airlines, including flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, delayed their flight departures. Others, such as Lufthansa, said they were able to plan ahead in using alternative routes to avoid flight delays on Thursday.

Haryadi said the international airport recorded delays of between 80 percent and 90 percent of the total flights from Tuesday to Thursday.

Some flights were canceled, he added.

On Tuesday, one flight each of Garuda Indonesia, Mandala and Bouraq airlines were canceled and a total of 139 flights delayed.

Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri was one of those inconvenienced when her Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong took off half an hour late.

An official from the Jakarta Public Works Agency said on Thursday that the agency planned to construct a canal to help drain water on sections of the toll road.

"We will start the work in a day or two," the head of the agency, Fadly Katib, said.

The canal measuring 1.5 kilometers long and six meters wide would be constructed between the "Angke and Tunjungan rivers", he added.

Fadly gave no further explanation as he hurriedly got into his car. The name of the latter river could not be found on the city map.

The project, he said, was to extend the existing three-meter canal constructed by PT Jasa Marga toll road operator at the site.

Fadly did not explain the depth of the planned canal and the estimated cost of the project.

But he said the project was a must in order to avoid further damage to the toll road.

Fadly predicted it would take 1.5 months for the water to recede.

His remarks on the planned canal and prediction for the flooding to end conflicted with statements on Wednesday by State Minister of Public Works Rozik Boedioro Soetjipto and his senior staff.

The minister said his office would soon propose the central government build an adequate alternative road to the airport.

"It might take the form of an elevated road stretching the flooded part of the toll road," he said.

The minister's deputy for regional infrastructure, Asrap Hadiroso, said the elevated road would be 2.5 kilometers long and cost some Rp 25 billion (US$3.57 million) per kilometer.

Rozik said the road at the inundated spots gradually sank to some 80 centimeters since it was constructed 15 years ago.

Rozik and Asrap disclosed that the toll road was hurriedly constructed without fulfilling the standard procedures, particularly in the now flooded areas where the land structure was poor.

"According to the initial schedule, the construction of the toll road would be finished in 1985, instead of 1984. But the airport was already completed in 1984," Asrap said.

Monsoon conditions in the Jakarta Bay and heavy rain which drenched the city since Monday evening contributed to the flooding.

The inundated sections of the toll road are located in a swampy area which was formerly the site of mangrove forests.

An alternative route to the airport is through Jl. Daan Mogot in Tangerang and through Jl. Pembangunan 3, Jl. Marsekal Suryadarma. Another is via Jl. Jurumudi - Jl. Daan Mogot in West Jakarta. (41/05/bsr)