MRT project a priority, says Governor Sutiyoso

MRT project a priority, says Governor Sutiyoso

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso insisted on Monday the Mass
Rapid Transportation (MRT) project tops the administration's list
of priorities as it works to reduce traffic congestion in the
capital.

"Many parties have given political support to those who
disagree with the urgency of the MRT, but for the city
administration it is clear that the project is a priority,"
Sutiyoso said following a meeting with representatives of the
Japanese government to discuss the subway project.

Sutiyoso said the central government had yet to put the MRT on
the top of its national transportation development program, but
he vowed to push the project forward as soon as he received the
go-ahead from President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The governor also reiterated the socioeconomic advantages of
the project, pointing out that it would create a great number of
jobs during construction and when completed would have an impact
on the city's economic life.

The Japanese delegation, which consisted of officials from the
country's land, infrastructure and transportation ministries,
told Sutiyoso during the meeting that based on their studies,
Jakarta required an MRT system to reduce traffic congestion.

A seminar will be held on Tuesday to allow the Japanese
officials to present the findings of these studies.

With millions of residents traveling throughout the city every
day, the MRT is seen as being able to solve Jakarta's
transportation problems because it can transport some 50,000
people per hour.

According to the preliminary plans, the MRT would be
constructed in at least two stages. In the first stage, costing
around US$1.5 billion, the MRT would connect Jl. Fatmawati in
South Jakarta to the National Monument (Monas) in Central
Jakarta, with 13 stations along the route. It would combine an
elevated track and a subway.

There would be 12.7 kilometers of elevated track from Jl.
Fatmawati to Senayan, with the possibility of an extension to
Dukuh Atas in South Jakarta. The route would then continue to
Monas via a 2.8-kilometer subway.

In the second stage, the construction cost of which has not
been calculated, the MRT would connect Monas and Harmoni in
Central Jakarta and then terminate at the Kota railway station in
West Jakarta. This section would probably be underground.

In a rough estimate made earlier by the city administration,
the project could save the capital annual losses of US$900
million caused by traffic congestion.

Sutiyoso said a research team from the Japan International
Corporation Agency calculated the costs of the first stage of the
subway project at some Rp 10.3 trillion to connect Jl. Fatmawati
to Dukuh Atas, and Rp 3.4 trillion for the track from Dukuh Atas
to Monas.

Some Rp 771.46 billion would be needed to appropriate the
necessary land, with the money coming from the utility relocation
budget in 2001 and 2002. In 2001 alone, Rp 642.881 billion would
be spent to purchase the land, Sutiyoso said.

The Japanese government has given its commitment to finance
the project, promising a special yen loan with 7.5 percent
interest per year. The special loan package, which would be taken
from the Miyazawa Plan and the Special Yen Loan Program, would
have a maturity period of 40 years with a grace period of 10
years.

"It now depends on the rupiah's exchange rate to see whether
they (Japanese government) will fulfill their commitment," said
Sutiyoso.

A memorandum of understanding on the project was signed in
1995 between the central government, the city administration and
an Indonesian-Japanese-European consortium. The project was
postponed when the financial crisis hit Indonesia in the middle
of 1997. (04/07)