Govt close to choosing firms to build subway

JAKARTA (JP): The investment value of the Jakarta subway project, which will start construction early next year, is currently being calculated by the government, Governor Suryadi Soedirdja said yesterday.

The next step is to determine which consortium is qualified to implement the project, Suryadi, chairman of the Project Management Unit, told journalists.

"Until details of the costs are finalized, the unit has no idea which company will implement the project," he said. He insisted that the costs should be calculated carefully because it will also determine subway ticket prices.

He said that the unit should consider the consumers because the subway is built for them and the facilities will be of little use if the fare is too expensive for most users.

He said that the fare will be determined based on various factors, such as the city's income levels.

"Up to now the unit has not decided, or appointed, who will construct the subway," Suryadi said, adding that he is optimistic the research can be finished by the end of this year and the project started early next year.

The unit is responsible for making the basic design of the subway, as well as reviewing the validity and reliability of the proposal, including the financial aspect.

The unit consists of experts from the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Transportation, City Administration and the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

In February President Soeharto approved a proposal to build the subway, linking Blok M and Kota, as an effort to ease the increasingly chaotic traffic in the capital.

The proposal estimates that the 14 kilometer subway will cost about US$1.3 billion and the government has decided to form a consortium of state-owned companies, city-owned companies, as well as foreign and local private companies to build the system.

The proposal also predicts that the subway system can carry up to 40,000 passengers during peak hours and about 290,000 passengers per day, in the year of 2002. The proposed fare is Rp 1,800 per passenger.

There will be about 15 stations, with the distance between each being about one kilometer. They will be built in Kota, Glodok, Mangga Besar, Sawah Besar, Harmoni, Monumen Nasional (Monas), KH Wahid Hasyim, Hotel Indonesia, Dukuh Atas, Setiabudi, Karet, Senayan, Senopati, Blok M and Panglima Polim.

Governor Suryadi is optimistic that the project can commence as scheduled and that there are "many" companies interested in implementing it.

There are, up to now, about six multinational companies, from France, Canada, Japan, the United States, Germany and Australia, who have expressed interest to participate in the project. (yns)