Pramono Speaks Frankly on Progress in Addressing Dangling Cable Issues in the Capital

The issue of tangled dangling cables in Jakarta has resurfaced after a utility pole supporting numerous optical cables collapsed in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta, last weekend. In response, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has been candid about the process of organising the utility cables dangling at various points in the capital. According to Pramono, organising all the dangling cables across the capital of the Republic of Indonesia cannot be resolved instantly or with a mere ‘abracadabra’. He explained that this reorganisation of utilities requires time and measured stages to ensure that moving the cable networks underground proceeds optimally and safely for the public. “But this requires time; it can’t be done with a snap, and everything will be finished,” Pramono stated at Jakarta City Hall in Central Jakarta on Monday (13/4). Pramono asked the public to understand the transition process, while assuring that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has prepared a measured roadmap to complete it. “However, the DKI Jakarta Government already has a programme for that,” Pramono said. Pramono confirmed that the regulations governing the organisation of utility networks now have a strong legal basis, namely a regional regulation (Perda) that was approved by the DKI DPRD and signed last year. “So, for SJUT (Integrated Utility Network Facilities) for the cable facilities that we’ve included in this, the Perda has already been signed by me,” he explained. The next step is to prepare technical regulations, including through a Governor’s Regulation (Pergub). Following the enactment of these regulations, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government will promptly execute the plan to relocate overhead utilities that often endanger the public. Pramono assured that his entire apparatus is now fully focused on the cable project to make the city layout safer and neater. “And now we will start focusing and concentrating on putting the cables underground,” he said. Previously, a pole on Mangga Besar Street in Taman Sari, West Jakarta, collapsed, suspected to be unable to bear the load of piled-up optical cables due to its corroded condition, on Sunday (12/4). “The optical cable pole was already corroded because of the piled-up cable load,” said the Head of the Data and Information Centre (Kapusdatin) of the DKI Jakarta BPBD, Mohamad Yohan, in his statement last Sunday, as quoted from detik.com. The incident occurred at 15:48 WIB. Officers rushed to the scene and handled the situation. Optical cables from the collapsed pole were seen dangling and touching the roof of a passing bus. As a result, traffic flow at the location was disrupted. The electricity pole was fully handled by 19:36 WIB. Yohan emphasised that there were no casualties in the incident.