Subway project to go ahead

JAKARTA (JP): A senior ministry of transportation and telecommunication official insists that a subway be built beneath the main thoroughfares of Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman as a future alternative to these already-congested roads.

Head of Land Transportation Facilities Iskandar Abu Bakar said recently he expected the subway to be operational in 2008 as traffic on the two main roads has increasingly worsened.

"We have seen for ourselves that traffic in the thoroughfares is so congested that a mass transportation arrangement is badly needed," Iskandar told Antara.

The construction project of the subway is expected to be completed within five years at the earliest, but according to Iskandar it will take the subway a further three years to operate on a commercially viable basis.

He said the project would cost the central government between US$1.3 billion and $1.5 billion. The funding is being negotiated with the Japan Bank International Corporation (JBIC), he added. The government, he said, is seeking the bank's approval for a special yen loan scheme to finance the project. (amd)