PAM's Water Pipe Excavation in Kalideres Delayed by Other Utilities, Completion Pushed to April 2026

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - PT PAM Jaya has revealed the reasons behind the slow completion of the clean water pipe excavation project on Jalan Peta Selatan in Kalideres, West Jakarta. The project, which residents have frequently complained about, has been held up by the presence of other underground utility networks, causing its completion target to be pushed back to April 2026. PAM Jaya Senior Manager Corporate & Customer Communication, Gatra Vaganza, explained that the expansion of the clean water pipe network, begun in November 2025, was initially targeted to finish in February 2026. Gatra also dismissed residents’ accusations that the project had stalled due to lack of visible worker activity at the trench sites. He said the delay is purely due to the construction method used, namely jacking or boring and pushing pipes from underground. ‘Because we push the pipes using a model called jacking. In Jakarta nowadays the open-cut method is no longer allowed, as it would cut the road along its entire length,’ he said. Gatra illustrated that the open-cut method would significantly disrupt traffic because the road would be broken wide open. Conversely, the jacking method only requires designated boreholes to monitor the pipe. ‘Those holes are really to see whether the pipe is straight, or not, and if it’s aligned,’ he explained. ‘So when people pass by it may seem like there are holes and no one is working. In fact no one is working on the surface because the holes are for monitoring,’ he added. Previously reported, residents and road users around Jalan Peta Selatan complained about five pipe excavations by PAM Jaya that encroached on the road shoulder along the Pegadungan direction. Residents said they were perplexed because the excavations were left open for months without any worker activity. The situation caused traffic congestion due to road narrowing, especially during peak hours. ‘Yesterday when I passed by the village office in Pegadungan there were still a lot of workers, but here in Peta Selatan it’s like it’s left; it’s been a long time since it was continued,’ said Purwanto. He questioned PAM Jaya’s construction system, which he believes does not immediately close the excavations at the starting points that had already been completed, but instead leaves them to work on new points. ‘At the start it was busy; at every point there were workers. Now it’s finished and left behind. It seems they have moved to the new excavations,’ he lamented.