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)