Deep tunnel project gets go-ahead with Shanghai investment

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 08/10/2007 12:59 PM  |  Jakarta

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Shanghai administration on Thursday committed to investing resources -- both money and technology -- in Jakarta's deep tunnel project.

""Representatives of the Shanghai administration, China, came here today to express their commitment to participating in the multifunction deep tunnel project,"" said Governor Sutiyoso at City Hall.

""Their participation will not only come in the form of money but also technology. So, we'll be using their equipment in the project by the time the partnership takes place.""

Sutiyoso met with representatives of the Shanghai-owned developer Shanghai Urban Construction Development and Research Institute (SUCDRI), Shanghai-owned construction firm Shanghai Foreign and Economy Company (SFECO) and SFECO's local arm Arum.

""We're here because we want to help Jakarta overcome flood and traffic issues,"" said Tony Ching of Arum quoting SFECO's Ge Rushan.

Jakarta is vulnerable to yearly flooding. In the floods earlier this year, more than 140 people were killed and thousands of others were forced to flee their homes. Monetary losses were estimated to have reached Rp 8 trillion (US$880 million).

""Moreover, the Shanghai administration has experience with tunnel projects,"" Tony said.

According to Zhou Liang of SUCDRI, Shanghai has 14 tunnels, including one that is under construction, with a total length of more than 100 kilometers.

The Jakarta Water Regulatory Body has planned since February to establish a multipurpose deep tunnel system, which the governor says will help ease traffic congestion in the city, as well as solving urban environmental problems.

The 22-kilometer tunnel will be constructed 15 meters below the West Flood Canal, starting from Balekambang, East Jakarta, and continuing to Manggarai, South Jakarta, Tanah Abang and Roxy, Central Jakarta, and to the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang.

There will be two levels of roadway and wastewater reservoirs constructed within the tunnel, which will have a diameter of 12 meters. Above the roadways, the tunnel will be used as a wastewater treatment facility to produce potable water.

The administration has proposed that private firms finance 70 percent of the Rp 16.3 trillion project and the administration the remainder.

""The amount of investment will depend on a future agreement between the two administrations and feasibility studies,"" Tony said.

The feasibility study is currently being completed by a city-sanctioned team.

Last week, representatives of the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank met with administration officials to discuss a number of infrastructure projects, including the tunnel project.

However, Achmad Lanti, the head of the regulatory body for city-owned water operator PAM Jaya, said the bank might be deterred as the amount of money needed for the project ""is too high for them"".

The bank offered a maximum of $100 million for each project.

Last month, an Indonesian delegation, including Sutiyoso and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, went to Malaysia for feasibility studies of a similar tunnel project.

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