Jasa Marga suffers US$1.46m losses

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga said Wednesday that the flooding in Jakarta had inflicted estimated losses of Rp 15 billion (US$1.46 million) on the company.

Jasa Marga's director Syarifuddin Alambai was quoted by Antara as saying that the losses included Rp 3 billion in lost revenue and a Rp 12 billion repair bill.

The company allowed motorists to use the toll road for free for several days during the flooding. Other parts were flooded or damaged.

"Actually, the damage caused by the flooding is not really bad but we have to repair it because toll roads must always be in good condition," he said following the ceremony to mark the start of the construction of the toll road linking the West Java towns of Cikampek and Padalarang.

Syarifuddin said the floods had inundated the toll road in several locations in Greater Jakarta, including Cawang, Grogol, Tangerang and sections of the road leading to the Soekarno-Hatta airport.

The flooding did not only disrupt social and business activities in the capital but also prevented people from traveling to the airport.

Syarifuddin said that in order to ensure travel to the airport was not disrupted in the future it planned to construct a two- kilometer-long, four lane flyover on the airport toll road to allow motorists to avoid flood-prone areas.

He expected construction to begin this year or early next year.