Jakarta ready to support ambitious MRT project
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta administration said it would be ready to support the plan to build the ambitious Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) rail system as long as "the central government shows strong political will to see the project materialize."
"The city administration has no problem in supporting the project even in terms of finances," said the City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya on Friday, responding to a statement by the Ministry of Communications' Director General for Land Transportation Iskandar Abubakar on Wednesday.
Ritola said earlier that the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) may finance the construction of the Rp 4 trillion (around US$476 million) mega project under a 50-50 financial scheme.
A feasibility study of the project by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has apparently been completed.
The MRT system, which will span 15 kilometers from Jl. Fatmawati in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta, had been planned since 1995 by a Japanese, European and Indonesian consortium in 1995. On Nov. 18, 2002, Governor Sutiyoso said his administration would establish an office with a Japanese consortium to go through with a similar US$1.5 billion project.
The 1995 planned project was then postponed when the financial crisis hit Indonesia in mid-1997.
The initial plan was for the MRT line to be built in two stages. The first stage would connect Jl. Fatmawati to the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta and will be combined with an elevated track and a subway. The second stage will start from Monas and end at Harmoni in Central Jakarta and then terminate at Kota train station in West Jakarta. This section will probably be underground.
When asked if the MRT would replace the newly launched busway, which plies Blok M to Kota, Iskandar said "it is no problem".
"We can reroute the Busway's existing route to another planned corridor... We can also disassemble the busway shelters because they are completely knock-down," he said.
Sutiyoso admitted that he had received the letter sent by the Iskandar's office inviting the administration to discuss the financing of half of the project.
"But, I have not read the financing report. I will comment on that later," he said.
Transportation experts have said that an MRT -- capable of carrying 10,000 commuters per hour -- would be one of the best solutions for the capital's acute traffic problems. The Busway system currently can carry 2,500 per hour.