MRT still lightyears away...

JAKARTA (JP): Investors interested in the planned urban Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system will be invited to apply for the project next year, a city administration official says.

"The government is scheduled to issue bidding documents in September next year," Eri Chayaridipura, chief of the City Development Planning Agency, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

However Eri said he did not know whether the bidding would be open.

According to the planned schedule, the project will start in 1996. "Let it not be said that the project is pending or that it is falling behind schedule," he emphasized.

Coordination meetings between the city administration, the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the Ministry of Transportation and other involved institutions have been canceled until an agency responsible for the project's development is set up.

The present 'agency' is not really an agency but merely a study team, Eri noted, adding that 11 feasibility studies were conducted between 1972 and 1990 on the project's system.

Feasibility studies on financing schemes have not yet been made while studies on technical design began last month and should be completed by next September, he added.

The government initially hoped that all the construction work would be carried out and financed by private investors because the government could not afford to use the state budget for the project, he said.

Since the project will involve the public interest, however, it would be impossible for the government to leave the whole project to the private sector, Eri said.

"The government must retain some shares in this project, but it is not yet clear how many," he said.

And it is also unclear whether the project will be open to bidding from foreign companies only or if domestic private companies will be required to be included as investors, Eri said, adding that foreign bidders usually also offer financing schemes and sources.

Eri said one of the criteria used to select bidders is their proposed tariffs, which should be within the reach of the general public.

The city administration does not make the final decision on which system to use. It is the central government, in this case the Ministry of Transportation and BPPT, which have the last word, he explained.

The city administration is expected to submit information in accordance with the city's spatial plan on which road networks are needed and which part of the city should receive priority in the construction of the project, Eri said.

He believed that the north-south road network -- from Kota in West Jakarta to Jl. Fatmawati in South Jakarta -- is the traffic lane of highest density and therefore should be the first to be linked up with the MRT system.

Eri added that plans for the system often have to be reviewed and changed in line with the city's growth.

According to Eri, in proposing their versions of the planned system, interested foreign investors should not think merely in terms of their own socio-cultural backgrounds but should also consider those of Jakartans.

"One of the bad habits of Jakartans is littering. Companies which propose elevated lines for light rail trains on Jl. Sudirman, for instance, should anticipate passengers throwing rubbish from windows and creating a big mess underneath it, Eri said. (arf)