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)