Surjadi hopes MRT done during his time
Surjadi hopes MRT done during his time
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja expressed hope that
the oft-delayed urban Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, which
will link Blok M in South Jakarta with the Kota area in West
Jakarta, will be completed while he is still in office.
"I hope the project will be finished while I am still serving
my term of office," Surjadi told reporters on the steps of City
Hall on Monday.
Surjadi, who was installed as Jakarta governor in 1992, will
end his term of office in 1997.
The Ministry of Public Works announced on Aug. 8 that the
government will build MRT projects linking Blok M and the Kota
area and West Jakarta and East Jakarta. The announcement did not
reveal where the East-West corridor will start or end.
When asked whether the city administration will opt for an
underground system or an elevated one, Surjadi said that it has
not yet been decided.
Surjadi said that numerous studies on MRT systems have been
conducted and that thus far the city administration will choose
one which meets the following four points:
First, it should not spoil the city's beauty; secondly, it
should not be harmful to the environment; Third, the public
should be able to afford the fares; Fourth, the construction
should not cause traffic congestion.
Referring to his meeting on the MRT project with Minister of
Research and Technology B.J. Habibie last week, Surjadi said it
was necessary to hold further discussions because no final
decisions on the mode and financing have been made.
The governor said that budgetary constraints are a major
hurdle to the mass transportation project.
Despite the limited budget, Surjadi said, the city's chronic
traffic jams must at any rate be solved as soon as possible or
else the long-standing traffic problem will become enormously
difficult to solve.
One way of solving the problem, said Ery Chayaridipura, the
chairman of the City Development Planning Agency, is to cooperate
with private companies in financing the project. (arf)