Rivers not fit to be used for transportation, experts say
Rivers not fit to be used for transportation, experts say
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Officials and experts have expressed pessimism about the city
administration's plan to incorporate Jakarta's rivers into an
integrated urban transportation system, saying the administration
would face too many technical problems.
Public works agency head IGKG Suena told The Jakarta Post on
Tuesday that making use of rivers for transportation purposes
would not be an easy job as the city's rivers were not suitable
for transportation.
Technical problems that would be faced by the administration
included the poor condition of the rivers, which were mostly
shallow and narrow, as well as the bridges, which were not high
enough to be passed by medium-sized boats.
Suena said that although his agency was tasked with preparing
a section of the Ciliwung river from Pasar Baru in Central
Jakarta to Ancol in North Jakarta for a pilot project, he doubted
that the dream of successfully developing river transportation in
Jakarta would be feasible.
"It's okay if the rivers are only used for tourism but if
they're used for mass public transportation, I don't think so,"
he said.
Suena said that his agency would have a massive amount of work
to do if the rivers were to be used for public transportation,
including dredging and widening the rivers, and reconstructing
bridges. This would be financially out of the question.
The City Council and the relevant agencies in the
administration are currently discussing a draft bylaw on
incorporating river transportation as part of the wider city
transportation system.
Suena said that river transportation could be developed on the
East Flood Canal, the construction of which will be inaugurated
by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on July 10.
"We'll design the East Flood Canal for river transportation.
It will be some 100 meters in width so that it can be traversed
by large boats. We'll also design the bridges crossing the canal
so that they'll be high enough to let boats pass," he said.
A transportation expert from the Pelangi Foundation, Jack
Sumabrata, doubted the administration's seriousness in developing
the new transportation system.
"I support the idea of developing rivers as an integral part
of the city transportation system but I'm pessimistic that it
will be successful as the project would need a high level of
commitment from the administration," he said.
Jack said that the river and other means of transportation,
such as buses and railways, could support each other. Therefore
the administration should conduct a comprehensive study into the
proposal.
"Without integrating such a river transportation system with
other systems, its contribution to the overall city
transportation system will not be significant."
Pessimism about the administration's seriousness in resolving
the city's transportation problems was also voiced by the
Coalition for Jakarta Transportation.
The coalition's spokesman, Azas Tigor Nainggolan, criticized
the draft bylaw, which is currently being discussed by the City
Council, saying that it lacked comprehensiveness.
Tigor pointed out that the draft did not give adequate
attention to pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles.
The coalition also expressed its readiness to share its
knowledge with councillors for the purpose of deliberating the
draft bylaw.
The coalition's members include the Jakarta Residents' Forum
(Fakta), Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), the
Joint Committee for Phasing Out Leaded Gasoline, the Jakarta
Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Swisscontact and Pelangi.