Legislator urges utility network organisation to be a priority in Jakarta

A member of the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) Commission D, Muhammad Thamrin, has stated that the organisation of utility networks must be a priority programme to realise a safer, more orderly, and modern Jakarta. He is urging the DKI Provincial Government to immediately strengthen coordination with all utility operators to accelerate the control of overhead cable networks scattered across various regions. “Utilities must be organised more neatly and safely,” Thamrin said in Jakarta on Wednesday. Thamrin also requested that the programme to move cables underground be prioritised in strategic areas, such as protocol roads, transit-oriented development (TOD) zones, MRT corridors, tourist areas, and public activity centres. According to him, the construction of shared utility corridors will make the placement of networks more efficient and orderly, as well as support sustainable urban development. Furthermore, Thamrin proposed the establishment of a special agency to manage the utilisation of underground space and integrate the utility network licensing system. With more integrated governance, the infrastructure organisation process is believed to proceed more quickly and effectively. Previously, Governor of DKI Jakarta Pramono Anung Wibowo announced he had signed a regional regulation on cable management in the capital. “These cables are currently being organised because I have signed the regional regulation. The regulation on the Integrated Utility Network Facility (SJOT),” said Pramono. Pramono explained that previously, cables could not be placed underground due to the absence of a legal framework. However, with the regulation now in place, Pramono hopes the issue of messy cables in the capital can be properly addressed. “With the regional regulation that I have signed and which has been promulgated, hopefully, the handling of cables can be better managed,” Pramono said. He added that several private companies or entities are now ready to cooperate with the DKI Jakarta Government to address the capital’s cable problem. Pramono acknowledged that the issue of messy cables is one of the capital’s quite complex problems. “So, Jakarta, which is so complex and so large, has a major problem with many cables that are actually no longer in use, but their owners are unaware because they have been there for so long,” Pramono stated.