T

he ongoing Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) construction has drawn complaints from vendors who run businesses in the construction areas, claiming that their income has been affected.

Karyo, who runs a stationery shop in the basement of Blok A market on Jl. Fatmawati Raya in South Jakarta said on Sunday that he had suffered a substantial decrease in revenue since MRT construction began last month between Jl. Fatmawati Raya and the Blok M intersection.

He said that whereas previously he could make a profit of Rp 50,000 (US$3.90) per day, since construction commenced he '€œwould be very lucky'€ to take home more than Rp 30,000.

'€œI think the congestion makes people reluctant to shop here. They prefer to go to other markets,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.

On March 26, project operator PT MRT Jakarta started the construction of the MRT'€™s elevated section between Jl. Fatmawati and the Blok M intersection. The project has occasioned massive congestion on the road, which connects residential areas to business areas in South Jakarta, as the construction occupies 8 meters, almost half of the width of the 18 meter-wide street.

The first phase of the MRT will connect Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. It will have 13 elevated and underground stations, including one at Blok A market.

PT MRT Jakarta'€™s executives have repeatedly expressed optimism that the first phase of the MRT, which is expected to serve 173,000 passengers every day, will be ready in 2018. However, a senior official with the city administration has predicted a delay, as the city is still struggling to complete land procurement in some areas.

Karyo said he was not aware of the timeline of the MRT construction, but he expressed hope that it would be finished soon and would attract customers to the market.

'€œI hope that when the construction of the MRT is finished, the market will see more visitors,'€ he said.

Felix, an egg seller at Mede market on Jl. Fatmawati Raya, echoed Karyo'€™s complaints, saying that his income had slumped by almost 30 percent as a result of the increased congestion around the market.

Felix said he hoped that the upcoming fasting month in June would be able to make up for the current slow business.

'€œNormally, I earn double during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, so I hope that won'€™t be affected this year,'€ Felix said.

Besides traditional markets, a shopping center in Kebayoran Baru has also suffered a substantial decrease in customers since construction of the MRT began.

Laurentia Lanny, the general manager of Blok M Plaza shopping center, said recently that at weekends, the mall used to see approximately 30,000 visitors in a day, but that since work on the MRT began, it had seen only 15,000 to 17,000 visitors at weekends.

Visitor numbers had slumped, she explained, mainly because a pedestrian bridge heading to the mall had been torn down to make way for the MRT construction, forcing the mall'€™s regular visitors who took public transportation to cross the busy street to get to the mall.

Laurentia said the city administration should make a thorough assessment before making any decision, to avoid disrupting the capital'€™s economic activity.

'€œAround 1,000 people work at Blok M Plaza. Any development in the city must be carried out with consideration of the public interest,'€ she said.

However, she said she expected that the shopping mall would see a greater number of visitors once the MRT began to run, as there would also be a station at Blok M.