MRT idling at station, but has green light

MRT idling at station, but has green light

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Jakarta administration is confident that the construction of
the ambitious Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) will go ahead.

"Although the project will be partly funded by the central
government, we have received confirmation from the National
Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) that the MRT is among its
shortlisted projects," Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday.

"Hopefully, we can start the construction of the MRT next
year."

The MRT will link Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta
with Kota in West Jakarta.

It had originally been planned that the MRT would run between
Fatmawati in South Jakarta and Kota, but Lebak Bulus was chosen
as a depot for efficiency reasons. The Lebak Bulus bus terminal
will be expanded into the depot.

Sutiyoso said the project had received the green light from
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The President, he said, had promised to discuss the project at
an infrastructure summit here in February.

Assistant to the city secretary for development affairs Hari
Sandjojo, said the administration was preparing a report on the
Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) of the project.

"We plan to make the Amdal available next week to receive
public input," Hari told The Jakarta Post.

He said his administration and the central government would
form a joint team to speed up preparations for the MRT.

The development of the MRT will be implemented in two stages.
The first stage will include the construction of nine elevated
stations from Lebak Bulus to Istora in the Senayan sports complex
in Central Jakarta and three underground stations from Bendungan
Hilir in Central Jakarta to National Monument (Monas) Park in
Central Jakarta. The second will comprise work from the Monas to
Kota.

The first stage is estimated to cost about US$767.66 million
(Rp 7.128 trillion), while the cost of the second is yet to be
calculated.

Transportation experts have repeatedly said that the MRT has
great potential to reduce chronic traffic jams in the capital,
despite its cost.

However, many observers have doubted the success of the
project, given that messy underground networks and unstable
ground coupled with recurrent flooding in the city might turn the
project into a flop.

The project was approved for the first time in 1974. The
government was on the brink of materializing it in 1995, after
the Japanese government committed to providing funds for the MRT.
However, the financial crisis in mid-1997 led to the project's
postponement.

The planned subway route:

Nine elevated stations
Lebak Bulus, (via TB Simatupang), Fatmawati, Cipete Raya, Haji
Nawi, Blok A, Blok M, Sisingamangaraja, Senayan, Istora

Three underground stations
Bendungan Hilir, Setiabudi, Dukuh Atas,

Depot at Lebak Bulus bus terminal (three hectares)

Second stage:
Monas, Harmoni, Sawah Besar, Mangga Besar, Glodok, Jakarta Kota.

Speed : 32 kilometers/hour
Initial headway : 5.5 minutes
Planned headway : 3 minutes
Capacity: 33,000 passengers hour/per direction

Projected demand
322,400 passengers per day in 2009
440,700 passengers per day in 2015