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Jakarta to build light rail transit next year

The Jakarta administration plans to start construction of the first route of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system next year

Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, September 27, 2014

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Jakarta to build light rail transit next year

T

he Jakarta administration plans to start construction of the first route of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system next year.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said the LRT, which will run on elevated rails, would act as a feeder for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). The LRT construction will be financed by a consortium of private firms and city-owned firms, including PT Pembangunan Jaya and PT Transportasi Jakarta, he went on.

'€œHopefully we can start construction on the first route of the LRT next year,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall in Central Jakarta on Friday.

The first LRT route, he said, would travel from Pulogadung in East Jakarta, to Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta, Senen in Central Jakarta to Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta.

'€œSome LRT stations will be integrated with train, Transjakarta and MRT stations so commuters can easily change transportation modes. The LRT will also act as a feeder service to the MRT system,'€ Ahok said.

He further said that the city administration would not earmark the 2015 budget to finance the LRT construction.

'€œThis will be fully financed by the consortium,'€ Ahok said. '€œIf the firms involved are fully committed, I am sure we can finish this in one to two years.'€

The Jakarta Transportation Agency'€™s head of land transportation, Emanuel Kristanto, said that the tender for the project would be offered soon.

Emanuel said the LRT rails would be elevated to avoid traffic. He added that the Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) was currently conducting a feasibility study to determine the LRT stops and decide on other routes.

While Ahok has stated that he wants to complete LRT construction in one to two years, Emanuel said that it would take at least three years to finish the first LRT route.

Ahok has said that the city administration will speed up all projects, including the MRT project, the construction of six toll roads and the Old Town revitalization, so that they will be ready prior to the start of the 2018 Asian Games, which Jakarta, along with Palembang, will host.

Meanwhile, Ahok said that the fate of the problematic monorail construction project was still uncertain.

The monorail project has been in limbo since former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso'€™s tenure, as the city administration is wary of PT Jakarta Monorail'€™s ability to fund the construction.

'€œWe still don'€™t know [whether the monorail project will continue],'€ Ahok said.

Transportation expert Darmaningtyas criticized the city administration for its decision to start constructing the LRT system in 2015.

'€œThere are too many ongoing infrastructure projects in Jakarta at the moment. The city administration should focus on finishing these ongoing projects instead of starting a new one,'€ Darmaningtyas told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Darmaningtyas, who is also director of the Institute of Transportation Studies (Instran), added that the city'€™s plan to add more Transjakarta routes had yet to be realized, let alone the MRT construction project.

However, he acknowledged that the LRT system would be convenient for commuters. '€œLRTs are elevated. Bangkok uses an LRT named the SkyTrain. It won'€™t have to deal with traffic and will be quicker than our current electric trains,'€ Darmaningtyas said.

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