New rail project starts next year

New rail project starts next year

JAKARTA (JP): The construction of a light rail line that will
link Pondok Labu in South Jakarta with Kota Station in North
Jakarta will start next year, Director General of Highway
Construction Soeharsono Martakim said yesterday.

Soeharsono said that the draft plan of the project, which is
called the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system, is now in its final
stages.

The LRT is to be built by PT Citra Lamtoro Gung, a company
owned by President Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti
Rukmana.

The company plans to construct a freeway alongside the line,
Soeharsono said.

He said the LRT will intersect with the freeway at a ring road
in Lebak Bulus, not far from Pondok Labu.

Speaking after delivering a speech at a seminar on subway
development, Soeharsono said construction work on the LRT will
commence before work begins on the planned Blok M-Kota subway
project.

The subway project is to be constructed by a consortium of
Japanese and European companies.

Soeharsono said the government is giving priority to the
construction of the LRT because more thorough preparations are
needed for the subway, which will be Indonesia's first.

Unlike the LRT, the subway will require a number of supporting
systems, including ventilation, lighting, fire control,
communications and drainage, Soeharsono said.

The first phase of the subway project will be the construction
of a 14-kilometer tunnel linking Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gajah Mada,
passing beneath the Jl. M.H. Thamrin and Harmoni area. The
project is expected to cost Rp 200 billion (approximately US$87.7
million) per km.

He said the construction of the LRT and the subway should not
affect traffic flow or cleanliness in the city. (03)