T

he city administration says it will make a decision on whether to reboot the long-stalled monorail project headed by private consortium PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) within two months.

Acting governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said at City Hall on Friday that he had given JM a two-month deadline to present its business plan and detailed designs for the monorail project.

'€œIf the company fails to give a satisfying proposal, it means it is unable to carry out the project,'€ he said.

Ahok also said that though the company had fulfilled 15 clauses in its original contract with the city, many things regarding the plan were unclear.

'€œThey want to build a 150-meter-high station supporting a three-story building above, for example. They should explain how the construction could support the buildings,'€ he said, adding that the company had also not provided a
traffic study.

JM has planned to build commercial areas above the stations to generate revenue, as ticket sales would not cover the cost of the project.

Ahok also said JM had not prepared for possibly needing more pillars on sidewalks, which would require time-consuming land acquisition.

The acting governor went on to say he needed a more thorough explanation about the company'€™s financial plan. '€œIf they want to borrow money for 70 percent of the total project, which is Rp 15 trillion [US$1.26 billion], it means that they are providing the remaining 30 percent. They have to show me that they have the 30 percent,'€ he said.

Ahok has doubts about the financial viability of the consortium. '€œI asked them to provide a 5-percent bank guarantee for the project but they only wanted to give us 1.5 percent,'€ he said.

The monorail project contract has not yet been signed by the city administration.

The consortium has proposed two monorail lines: a green line, with 16 stations, extending 14.3 kilometers from the city police headquarters to Satria Mandala Museum, both in South Jakarta; and a blue line stretching 13.7 km from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Grogol in West Jakarta, with 14 stations. The project is expected to be completed by 2018.

Jakarta Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo previously gave the company until April to prove its ability to carry out the project, but it failed to meet the city'€™s requirements.

Ahok, who has been vocal in his reluctance to proceed with the project, said the city needed several public transportation modes, including a monorail, but he wanted to ensure that the project would actually be completed.

The monorail project was initiated in 2004 but it was halted in 2007 because of financial issues.

Ahok said he even hoped that the decision could be made before Jokowi, who is now on leave to run for president, potentially retook his position as active governor. '€œIf Jokowi returns [to his gubernatorial seat], he will be lenient again with the company,'€ he said.

Separately, JM director Sukmawati Syukur was optimistic the company would meet the city'€™s requirements by the two-month deadline.

'€œThe detailed engineering design [DED] is usually given after the contract is signed. However, if the city administration asks for it now, we will provide it,'€ she said.

Sukmawati said the company had already fulfilled 15 requirements, so she suggested the city administration make an addendum for the contract with extra requirements.

'€œThe administration can put an addendum, for example, that the stations are not allowed to take over the road or sidewalk space,'€ she said.

'€œIt is not a problem for us to provide all answers Mr. Ahok wants. The problem is whether he wants to sign the contract or not,'€ she said.