TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Construction of six inner-city toll roads to begin next year

The construction of six controversial inner-city toll roads has been given the green light

Sita W. Dewi (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, July 26, 2014

Share This Article

Change Size

Construction of six inner-city toll roads to begin next year

T

he construction of six controversial inner-city toll roads has been given the green light.

Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama; Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT) head Ahmad Ghani Ghazali; and PT Jakarta Tollroad Development (JTD) president director Frans Sunito signed on Friday a joint agreement to start the project.

The physical construction is slated to begin sometime in 2015. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2018 and all of the toll roads are expected to be operational by 2022.

Despite protests from urban activists who have said that the toll roads will be counter-productive to the administration'€™s efforts to shift commuters to public transportation, Ahok said he expected that the construction would be completed on time.

'€œSix inner-city toll roads have to be completed within three years to expedite the solution to Jakarta'€™s transportation issues,'€ Ahok said during the signing ceremony at Public Works Ministry.

Ahok said he expected the construction of the six toll roads would be carried out simultaneously, instead of several stages as previously planned.

To cope with the consequences, including severe traffic gridlock, Ahok said the city would restrict the use of vehicles in the capital by applying the electronic road pricing (ERP) system, as well as providing free-of-charge double-decker buses to convert motorcyclists to public transportation. '€œI think we can also limit the distribution of subsidized fuel in Jakarta,'€ he added.

The toll roads will have dedicated lanes for Transjakarta buses, Ahok added.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto supported Ahok'€™s request to expedite the project completion, saying that the ministry would push the project to be completed in only one stage. '€œWe just have to minimize environmental impacts and manage the traffic,'€ he said.

The construction of the 69.7 kilometers of toll roads will involve an investment of Rp 42 trillion (US$3.63 billion).

'€œIt will be an expensive investment because most of the toll roads will be elevated,'€ Djoko cited.

Frans said that apart from the investment, the company would also set aside Rp 5.4 trillion to acquire land.

'€œThe project will only take up around 20 percent of the amount of land required by regular toll roads but we still need more than Rp 5 trillion to acquire that land,'€ he said.

Frans also expected the city administration would assist the company so that the land acquisition could be completed on time.

'€œLand acquisition is often troublesome,'€ he said.

Despite the criticism, Djoko was optimistic that the toll roads would partly solve the capital'€™s unresolved traffic problems.

He warned that in 2020, the number of vehicles in the capital would exceed the roads'€™ capacity.

'€œThere will be total traffic gridlock in Jakarta,'€ he said.

The proposed inner-city toll roads, a project initiated during the term of governor Sutiyoso, are designed to connect all five of Jakarta'€™s municipalities.

Originally the planned first phase of construction included a 20.23-kilometer road from Semanan, West Jakarta, to Sunter, North Jakarta and a 9.4-kilometer road from Sunter to Pulogebang, East Jakarta.

The routes from Duri Pulo, Central Jakarta, to Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, and from Kampung Melayu to Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, were planned for the second phase.

The third phase of the project would connect Ulujami, South Jakarta, to Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, and the fourth would connect Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, to the Casablanca area of South Jakarta.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.