Manggarai station project to commence in December

JAKARTA (JP): The construction of the Manggarai integrated terminal project in South Jakarta is scheduled to start in December, according to Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto.

"I learned of this plan from one of the directors of Bukaka," Haryanto said at a meeting with model public vehicle drivers, fishermen and lighthouse attendants Thursday.

The construction of the project will be financed by a consortium which consists of, among others, Citra Lamtoro Gung Group, the Bakrie Group and Bukaka.

Other members of the consortium are PT Bandar Mardi Perkasa, PT Cahaya Cipta Adicemerlang, PT Citra Agratama Persada, PT Mitraguna Tribakti, PT Sekar Artha Sentosa and PT Suhamthabie.

Haryanto said that due to the construction of the project, the Balai Yasa train maintenance center would be moved from Manggarai to Arjawinangun, Cirebon, Antara reported.

The integrated Manggarai project was originally designated as a bus terminal, a train station and residential sites in the 1985-2005 development master plan.

In the new project, the current bus terminal will be turned into an integrated terminal, surrounded by a modern commercial center and apartments.

The project, however, was not included in the 1997-2010 reviewed spatial plan.

Haryanto said that the construction of the project would affect only a limited number of nearby houses that encroached on the planned routes of elevated roads. The affected houses belong mostly to employees of the state-owned railway company, Perumka, he said.

The project, which is estimated to cost US$285 million, sparked controversy after the head of the project's consortium, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, with Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto disclosed the plan to President Soeharto in 1994.

Councilors questioned the impact of the necessary roads linking the intercity terminal to surrounding residential sites.

Under the plan, the small Manggarai bus terminal would be turned into a four-story station with 22 tracks, four underground express train lines, intercity buses, minibuses and taxis. Officials said the project would require 124 hectares.

It was earlier estimated that 4,000 residents could be affected by the project.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said in April that the municipality did not know when the project would start even though it had gained the President's approval.

The president director of consortium member PT Pembangunan Jaya, Hanafi Lauw, said in April that the consortium was revising the project's basic design to reduce costs. (ste/hhr)