"We'll start construction next year with around Rp 100 billion. We have already acquired some 9 hectares out of the targeted 10.9 hectares. We have also had designs made based on the conditions of the terrain," Tauchid said.

He said construction could begin once the city council approved the 2009 budget.

Budget deliberations should start in October after the city submits its draft budget to the council.

Nurmansjah Lubis, a councilor at Commission B overseeing economics, said the city would benefit from conducting a critical study of modern terminal construction.

He said the executive and the legislative could then rely on that study to come up with a feasible budget breakdown.

"Without good planning, we're worried the Rp 100 billion budget can't be absorbed," he said.

The Pulogebang station will replace the rundown Pulogadung bus terminal to serve both Jakarta commuters and intercity passengers. The new terminal will have up-to-date facilities, such as park-and-ride and waiting areas with seating.

The plan to relocate the bus terminal from Pulogadung to Pulogebang has been in the works since the era of former governor Surjadi Soedirja (1992-1997).

The construction plan faced multiple delays because of sluggish land acquisition and paltry budget allocations, among other reasons. The new terminal requires 10.9 hectares, but the city has only managed to procure 9 hectares as holdout landowners continue to demand payments higher than the property's assessed value.

Earlier this year, the city council cut the budget for the terminal construction from Rp 25 billion to just Rp 1 billion. The budget cut put a halt to project developments.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said the new terminal construction would take three years to complete.

"We're still discussing terminal access issues with the Public Works Ministry," he said.

Fauzi expected the new terminal to have different access points for intracity and intercity passengers.

"The new terminal will be like an airport, with two terminals, one for intracity travel, the other for intercity. I hope the arrival and departure terminals can be separated, too, so the circulation of buses and passengers flows with ease," he said.

He said after the new terminal was completed, the old terminal would be used as a secondary intracity bus terminal.

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