River transportation plan takes shape

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While the development of the monorail and new busway corridors are already underway, the city administration is working on plans for a river transportation project.

"We are finalizing the plan for the first phase of the river transportation project that links Manggarai sluice gate in South Jakarta to Pejompongan sluice gate in Karet in Central Jakarta along the West Flood Canal," said City Transportation Agency head Rustam Effendy Sidabutar.

The four-kilometer Manggarai-Karet section is part of the planned 42-kilometer river transportation project stretching from Manggarai to Marunda in North Jakarta worth Rp 1.6 trillion.

The agency estimated that the first phase of the project would cost around Rp 89.7 billion.

According to Rustam, the administration has prioritized the Manggarai-Karet section as it passes by business districts.

The river transportation would be integrated into a greater transportation system incorporating the busway and railway station at Dukuh Atas and planned Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) on Jl. Rasuna Said.

"We plan to present the project plan next month to Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso before we go ahead with the implementation of the project," he said.

Rustam said the development of river transportation required the agency to dredge the canal and raise some bridges and gas pipes crosscutting along the routes to make way for the passage of 2.75-meter-high boats.

There will be four boats with 25 seats each to serve the route. The route will have five piers for passengers to get on and off.

Sutiyoso said earlier that he had instructed relevant agencies to conduct a feasibility study on river transportation in the capital.

"The route is relatively short as we just want to introduce the new transportation system to residents," he said.

A preliminary study conducted by the transportation agency estimated that around 2,193 passengers per day would make use of the river transportation services.

Initially, the city had planned to develop a route from Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, to Ancol, North Jakarta, but changed its mind because of low bridges along the route and inadequate water volume.

In the 12th century, one of the biggest rivers dividing Batavia (old Jakarta) into eastern and western sections, Ciliwung River, served as the main transportation route connecting the center of the Hindu Sunda Kingdom in Batutulis, Bogor, to Sunda Kalapa seaport.

Jakarta has 12 rivers flowing through it. However, unlike the situation in the past, all of the rivers are shallow and severely polluted with garbage, making efforts to use river transportation nearly impossible.