South Jakarta Mayor Says Tangled Cables Will Be Organised Using Underground Ducting

Tangled cable installations have been seen in Kuningan Barat, South Jakarta, and several other locations, raising concerns. The Jakarta Provincial Government is now building cable ducts to be installed underground.

“Overhead cables are currently a priority programme for the Governor of Jakarta. The relevant technical agency, particularly the Public Works Agency, is building ducts to move overhead cables into underground utility channels,” South Jakarta Mayor Syafrin Liputo said after inspecting a fire site in Pela Mampang, South Jakarta, on Friday (23 October 2026).

Syafrin hopes that moving cables underground will help prevent potential fires, making the work a priority.

“We hope that, through this reorganisation, we can promptly address the risk of fires caused by disordered overhead cables, particularly electrical cables,” he added.

Previously, tangled cables on Jalan Kuningan Barat Raya in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta, had unsettled local residents. The cables have often caused people to fall because the surface is slippery.

A visit to the site on Wednesday (30 September 2026) found tangled cables at several points, from the road entrance before the Mampang Prapatan junction, near MI Raudhatul Mutaallimin, to the area around buildings close to Jalan Gatot Subroto.

At the first location, around eight cable-support poles stood directly in front of a building-supplies shop. The poles were clustered together, supporting cables that appeared knotted.

Some cables hung low, drooping almost to the pavement, while others were strewn along the roadside.

The drooping cables had simply been coiled and left protruding above ground. Some were visibly dirty from being mixed with soil.

Other cables had also been left sticking up above the ground. Ira, a local resident and shop employee, said the exposed cables often caused her customers to have accidents.

“It’s really disruptive. Even when it hasn’t rained, it’s slippery—imagine when it rains. Lots of people on motorbikes fall. People come in this way and slip, you know. They really do slip; it’s slippery,” Ira said at the site.