S

tate-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya is seeking support from the Jakarta administration to lend two plots of land for a depot and station for its Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

Adhi Karya director V Pundjung Setya Brata said after a meeting with the Transportation Ministry and the city administration on Wednesday that the company needed around six hectares land for the depot in Cibubur, East Jakarta. It also needed a plot of land in Cawang, East Jakarta, for the station.

'€œWe need support from the city administration,'€ he said.

Pundjung said the company asked for the right to use this land.

'€œThe scheme of our business will be Built Operation Transfer [BOT]. We will return the land and the facilities to the city administration after 30 years,'€ he said, adding that the company planned to extend the BOT for another 20 years.

Adhi Karya previously proposed a 24.2 kilometer monorail project from Cibubur in West Java to Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta. When the city administration announced its plan to build an LRT, the company changed the project into an LRT with the same route with 11 stations.

Pundjung said the company and city administration had not reached any agreement related to the land.

'€œWe will meet and discuss the matter again soon,'€ he said.

Pundjung said he was also optimistic that the project could begin soon, saying that he expected to see a ground breaking ceremony in August.

The total investment needed for the project is estimated to hit around Rp 9.9 trillion (US$742.5 million), Rp 2.7 trillion of which will be obtained through rights issues, and another Rp 1.4 trillion from the government stimulus fund.

The fund is not only for the route from Senayan to Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta but also for Semanggi in Central Jakarta to Grogol in West Jakarta.

The deputy governor for industry, trade and transportation, Sutanto Suhodo, said the administration should carefully discuss land acquisition further.

'€œIt is crucial for us because this is the state'€™s asset. We cannot just give it to any party,'€ he said, adding that the land requested in Cawang was also a dedicated open green space (RTH).

Sutanto said the administration also asked for a strong legal basis to lend the land to Adhi Karya.

Nirwono Yoga, a spatial planning expert, expressed his objection toward the plan.

'€œThe route proposed by Adhi Karya is not included in the [2012] Spatial Planning bylaw,'€ he said, adding that the use of land in Cawang would reduce the already limited open green space.

Nirwono said the city administration should refer to the bylaw before agreeing to any project related to spatial planning.

He added that the new route could be proposed after in depth research on the needs of the residents was conducted.

'€œWe can revise the bylaw every five years. However, we cannot revise the bylaw only to accommodate the proposals of the private companies,'€ he said.

He added that the revision should be based on the research that solved the problems instead of merely giving a nod to business proposals.