Second busway corridor yet to break ground

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

The city public works agency has apparently strayed from its schedule to begin widening the road designated for the second busway corridor, from Pulo Gadung bus terminal in East Jakarta to the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta.

Agency head Fodly Misbach previously said that work would start early this month, on five kilometers of the corridor along Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, from the bus terminal to Cempaka Putih traffic intersection.

The new busway corridor is slated to be operational early next year.

The Jakarta Post observed on Sunday that the median strip of the road was still being used by scrap iron traders as a junkyard.

Residents of Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan also said they had not been informed of when work would start.

"The officials told us to remove the scrap iron from the median strip. They said they would soon begin widening the road, but, so far, there has been no evidence of that," said Manaf, one of the traders, on Sunday.

The city administration plans to use the 1.5-meter-wide median strip as part of the 3.4-meter-wide busway corridor. Converting the existing lanes alone would probably cause bottlenecks along the busy road.

Urban observers have criticized the plan as the area is mostly occupied with office buildings and the median strip serves as a green belt.

Meanwhile, the public works agency is widening the one-meter- wide median strip on Jl. Suprapto in Cempaka Putih so it can accommodate busway shelters.

According to Fodly, the agency has allocated Rp 10 billion (US$ 1.08 million) for work on the two roads. Work on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan is estimated to cost Rp 7 billion, while work on Jl. Suprapto is estimated at Rp 3 billion. The roadwork will be funded from this year's city budget.

The total length of the Pulo Gadung-Monas corridor will be 14.5 kilometers.

Launched on Jan. 15, the city already boasts a 12.9-kilometer busway corridor from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta, served by 56 buses.

Apart from the Pulo Gadung-Monas corridor, the administration will construct another corridor from Pulo Gadung to Kali Deres bus terminal in West Jakarta. The later projects are scheduled for completion in late 2007, coinciding with the end of Governor Sutiyoso's tenure, who is the main patron of the busway.

The three busway corridors are to be among 14 planned corridors in the city.