Monorail project starts Monday
After several months of delays, construction of an ambitious monorail project is scheduled to begin on Monday.
The first column of the 14.8-kilometer "green line" that will run through Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta and Jl. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta will be erected on Jl. Asia Afrika, in front of the west plaza of the Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri is expected to preside over a groundbreaking ceremony for the US$630 million project.
"We have just received confirmation from the state secretary (Bambang Kesowo) that President Megawati will inaugurate the construction project," City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said on Wednesday.
The schedule for the project has been repeatedly changed. The administration had planned to start construction in January, but delayed it until the end of May because it had yet to finalize the deal with PT Jakarta Monorail, a consortium of Indonesian and foreign investors, including the Hitachi Asia company.
Governor Sutiyoso then announced the start of the project had been moved back to June 12, with the groundbreaking ceremony to take place at the sports complex, pending permission from Bambang Kesowo because the complex is under the management of the State Secretary.
"The changes in the schedule were simply due to procedural reasons. There were some procedures such as paperwork that had to be fulfilled. That's why we could not immediately begin the project," said city spokesman Muhayat.
The monorail project will also include the construction of the 12.2-kilometer "blue line" stretching from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Roxy in West Jakarta.
The green line will have 17 stops, while the blue line will have 12.
The green line is expected to start operations in December 2006 and the blue line in early 2007.
The green line will be capable of transporting 8,500 people per hour per direction, while the blue line will be able to ferry a maximum of 10,000 people. The fare for both lines will range between Rp 3,500 (38 US cents) and Rp 7,500.
The low fares has raised concern among investors that the project will not be profitable, prompting PT Jakarta Monorail to propose a scheme to offset the expected shortfall by designing a giant depot that would include two towers of 20-story apartment blocks, a five-story shopping mall, condominiums and several theme parks. The 12-hectare compound would be built above the West Flood Canal in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.
However, the administration has yet to approve the proposal. -- JP