Subway concept best suited to Jakarta: Rais
Subway concept best suited to Jakarta: Rais
JAKARTA (JP): TB. M. Rais, deputy governor on economic and
development affairs, said on Saturday that an underground system
would be the most appropriate transport concept for the capital
city.
"The underground system may be more expensive than other
systems, but it has more advantages in the long run," he told The
Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.
With an average speed of between 60 and 80 kilometer per hour,
the underground trains would be able to transport 25,000
passengers/per hour in the beginning.
"During their development, the trains would be able to carry
40,000 people per hour. That's the first advantage," he said.
The other advantage is that the operation of the subway train
will create no air pollution, and the construction of the system
would not affect traffic.
"We do not necessarily face land appropriation whenever we
want to develop the network in the future," he said.
"The first subway will run from Blok M to Kota and the basic
design is expected to be finished by August this year," he said,
adding that the subway project office is at the Agency for the
Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) building on Jl.
MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta.
The Mass Rapid Transit concept has long been held to be the
best solution to the daily traffic chaos in the capital. However,
the city administration has been very careful in choosing the
best concept for the city.
Another concept put forward to overcome the transportation
problem in Jakarta was a three-level transportation system
linking Bintaro in South Jakarta and Kota downtown.
PT Citra Lamtorogung Persada, owned by Siti Hardiyanti
Rukmana, President Soeharto's eldest daughter, wants to start the
Rp 2.7 trillion (US$1.2 billion) project in 1997.
The system would consist of an artery road on the ground
level, an elevated light rail transit track on the second level
and a toll road on the top level.
MOU
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja and representatives of a
multinational consortium signed a memorandum of understanding on
Aug. 1 last year to prepare the basic design for the first subway
system.
The consortium, called the Indonesia-Japan-Europe group, will
handle the basic design of the US$1.3 billion project.
The basic design alone is expected to cost around $8 million,
of which $5 million will be provided by the foreign companies,
$2.5 million by local firms and the remaining $500,000 by the
city administration.
The Indonesian investors, led jointly by PT Citra Lamtorogung
also owned by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, and PT Bakrie Investindo,
a subsidiary of Bakrie Group, consist of PT Pembangunan Jaya, PT
Lippo, PT Bukaka/PT Kuda Perkasa, PT Suhamthabie and PT Steady
Safe.
Rais said on Saturday that the city administration has yet to
decide what technology to be applied for the subway system.
"We'll probably want a combination of the technology offered
by foreign countries. If we adopt a certain technology offered by
a certain country we will be fully dependent on it. We don't want
that," he said.
Asked whether floods have been considered in the design, he
said that "I believe that the experts have taken everything into
consideration."
The Blok M - Kota underground network will have 15 stops.
Many people are skeptical about security and cleanliness at the
underground stops, as public places like bus terminals are
usually dirty and crime-ridden.
"People will learn, so the new system will gradually change
things," Rais said. (sur/yns)