Unclear authority hampers transportation project
Unclear authority hampers transportation project
JAKARTA (JP): Unclear authority in transportation management
is a major constraint to large-scale public transportation
projects here, observers say.
They were responding to recent developments regarding a
proposal to build a subway from Blok M, South Jakarta, to
downtown Kota, and another proposal to build a three-tier system
consisting of an elevated railway, toll road and artery road from
Bintaro, South Jakarta, to Kota.
Bhenyamin Hoessein, who teaches state administration at the
University of Indonesia, said yesterday that transportation could
be better managed if a single authority in charge of large-scale
transportation projects was established.
Some years ago, plans to form such an authority were announced
but nothing came of it.
Without a single authority, Bhenyamin said, plans to improve
railway services would face problems.
Djoko Sujarto of the Bandung-based Institute of Technology
said a presidential decree to back up the municipality's role in
transportation projects was still needed given the variety of
parties involved.
A source requesting anonymity said yesterday that people
working on the subway project "had a headache" with certain
"powers".
He said it was not so much the lack of clarity in
transportation management than the influence of powerful parties
with diverse interests.
The subway plan, which the city earlier announced would start
this year, has been postponed indefinitely.
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja confirmed construction of the
subway would not begin this year. State Minister of Research and
Technology B.J. Habibie, who heads the subway's steering
committee, said earlier that investors had not come up with an
independent financial proposal which would not strain the
government's budget.
The investors in the consortium, called the Indonesia Japan
European Group, is headed by Aburizal Bakrie. Bambang
Trihatmodjo, one of President Soeharto's sons, was scheduled
earlier this year to sign a memorandum of understanding
symbolizing his participation in the group. However, the signing
has not taken place.
Another option, a three-tiered system, was proposed by PT
Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, owned by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the
President's eldest daughter. Both parties and city officials have
said that in view of Jakarta's traffic conditions, both projects
might be needed. The Citra Group has gained permits for the
project from the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of
Public Works.
The need for a presidential decree, initially considered a
prerequisite for the subway project, has not been decided on.
Representatives of both projects have said they would wait for
a presidential decree if it was needed.
Deputy Governor of Economic and Development Affairs Tb. M.
Rais earlier said a decree was needed to clarify the role of the
municipality in large-scale transportation projects.
Djoko, a professor in urban planning, said without a
presidential decree, the governor would be in an unclear position
in relation to, for instance, the minister of transportation.
However the anonymous official said a presidential decree
might not work either, given the city's experience in the
reclamation project along the North Jakarta coast.
Bhenyamin said conflicts of interest were common among
officials, but a way out was not impossible.
"It is a characteristic of our bureaucracy," he said.
He suggested the formation of a transportation authority for
large-scale projects, which he said should be coordinated by the
governor.
The director general of land transport under the Ministry of
Transportation, and high-ranking officials of other ministries
such as the Ministry of Public Works, should sit down and discuss
it with the governor, he said.
This is because large projects could be regarded as national
projects in the capital, Bhenyamin said.
According to the 1981 Law on the status of Jakarta as the
capital, the governor answers to the President on national
activities, he said. (ste/anr)