Govt agencies unenthused by transportation study
Bambang Nurbianto and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Officials of local administrations in Greater Jakarta expressed reluctance on Monday to adopt recommendations of a study on a transportation master plan proposed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), citing financial constraints as the major problem.
In a seminar held in the capital, Jakarta and Bekasi officials questioned a few points recommended in the study on the integrated transportation master plan for Greater Jakarta (SITRAMP) which they said were not convincing.
Head of the system development unit for the Jakarta Transportation Agency, D.A. Rini, for example, pointed to the recommendation to increase fuel tax, which if implemented could result in the collection of some Rp 14 trillion (US$1.6 billion) in 2020 in revenue.
"Without clear assumptions on the economic condition when the tax increase would be implemented, this proposal cannot work ... at any rate increases are a sensitive issue that could spark public protests," she said.
Her Bekasi counterpart, Subarto, also criticized the study which he said was only made to suit Jakarta as it gave greater emphasis on the busway project.
According to Subarto, some of the recommendations even contradicted the Bekasi transportation master plan. "I don't see that the study is applicable in our region," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the seminar.
The study offers solutions to transportation problems through various proposed projects through to 2020, including road development, traffic engineering, better transportation management and better public transportation.
It says without such improvement, economic losses caused by traffic congestion would increase to Rp 70.3 trillion in 2020 from the current Rp 5.5 trillion.
Many transportation analysts in attendance commented that the reluctance to adopt the measures was mostly caused by a conflict of interests among them.
Haruo Ishida, a professor at Tsukuba University in Tokyo, who lead the advisory team for SITRAMP emphasized the importance of cooperation among local administrations.
"It will be difficult to implement any master plan without cooperation among related organizations and regions," he said.
Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo also called on all administrations in Greater Jakarta to work together and to share a common vision in solving transportation problems as all of the surrounding cities are interconnected.
"We can no longer consider our own interests without giving concessions to other cities.
"But, I must admit that sometimes we in Jakarta tend to consider ourselves to be more important in view of our position as the nation's capital."