Monorail work again as fresh funds begin to flow

Monorail work again as fresh funds begin to flow

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Jakarta Monorail has resumed its long delayed construction
work and will soon announce its foreign financiers it said on
Wednesday.

Workers have been seen erecting concrete piles for the
elevated monorail track on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South
Jakarta, in the past week.

"We have erected five new piles on Jl. HR Rasuna Said since
early this month. We can install one pile per day. We expect the
work to be finished by the end of July," the company's chief
project officer Bovanantoo told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Bovanantoo said the company was prioritizing the construction
of the five-kilometer line from its depot over the West Flood
Canal to Casablanca, South Jakarta, which will be a test line.

"We will start trying to operate the monorail cars on this
line next year," he added.

Word has it that the company is closer to the finalization of
a deal with the project's new financiers.

The project had been brought to a halt for about six months
amid difficulties in seeking foreign financiers in the project
estimated to cost US$650 million.

Its financial difficulties had forced the Jakarta
administration to extend the contract with the company for
another six months, following the expiration of the contract on
May 31, 2005.

"I heard that the company has found new financing partners.
But, it has not submitted a progress report yet. We will meet
soon," Governor Sutiyoso said.

Another source with the administration close to the project
revealed that hopes were running high for the continuation of the
project following the support of Vice President Jusuf Kalla
through his company Bukaka Group.

However, PT Jakarta Monorail president director Ruslan Diwirjo
declined to confirm this.

"We do have a preference among the investors. But, we have not
made a final decision," Ruslan told the Post.

The company promised to announce the financiers next week.

Transportation experts have warned that the development of the
monorail is not feasible, since it fails to connect with other
public transportation systems, like the railway and buses, and
therefore would serve few passengers.

New York-based non-governmental organization the Institute for
Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) had carried out a
survey among 120,000 passengers using public transportation along
the planned monorail routes and discovered that the demand was
very low.

ITDP estimates that the 28-kilometer line will only serve
32,000 passengers per day.

Observers also said most residents would not be able to afford
the fare of Rp 5,000 per single trip, much higher than fares for
regular buses or trains, at around Rp 1,500, or half of the air-
conditioned busway fare of Rp 2,500.

City secretary Ritola Tasmaya said that the administration
would provide Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta, the east part of
Senayan sports complex in Central Jakarta and Mal Taman Anggrek
shopping mall in West Jakarta as parking space to encourage
private car users to switch to the monorail.

"The electronic road pricing system, which will be managed by
the administration, will be implemented simultaneously with the
operation of the monorail," Ritola said.