Subway project approved

Subway project approved

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto instructed Transportation Minister Haryanto Dhanutirto yesterday to go ahead with the building of a subway and an elevated railway to help ease the increasingly chaotic traffic in the capital.

The President's instruction ended a lengthy controversy on whether there should be an underground or elevated system in the Mass Rapid Transit development in Jakarta, which has a population of about nine million.

Haryanto told reporters after meeting with the President that the construction of the subway will be tendered, while that of the elevated railway will be awarded to PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada which is owned by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.

The minister said that the basic design for the subway is currently being prepared by a project management unit assigned by the government in cooperation with the National Development Planning Board and the Jakarta administration.

"The construction of the subway, which will link Blok M in South Jakarta and downtown Kota in West Jakarta, is expected to start early next year as soon as the design is completed followed by its tender," he said.

A number of consortia from France, Canada, Japan, the United States, Germany and Australia have reportedly expressed interest in participating in the tender for the construction of the subway project, which is estimated to cost over US$1 billion.

Haryanto said that the construction of the elevated railway, which will cost about $800 million, will be wholly financed by PT Citra Lamtoro Gung.

"The elevated railway will link Cinere and Kebayoran Lama, both in South Jakarta, and will later be operated by the state railway company Perusahaan Umum Kereta Api under a joint operation scheme," he said.

Under such a scheme, there will be a technical unit whose president will be a railway employee, while the financial director will be from PT Citra Lamtoro Gung, he said.

According to the minister, the elevated railway will operate between Kebayoran Lama and Cinere through Pondok Indah and Lebak Bulus and not between Kota and Cinere as was reported previously.

Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana is the President's eldest daughter. (hhr)