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Ahok blames Foke for Casablanca traffic congestion
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has blamed his predecessor, Fauzi "Foke" Bowo, for daily heavy traffic congestion in Casablanca, South Jakarta, during rush hour
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akarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has blamed his predecessor, Fauzi "Foke" Bowo, for daily heavy traffic congestion in Casablanca, South Jakarta, during rush hour.
Ahok said the traffic jams were caused by an elevated road stretching from Casablanca in South Jakarta to Karet in Central Jakarta. He said the decision to build the elevated road was a mistake.
"It's confusing in Casablanca. The elevated road is empty, but the underpass is heavily congested. The previous governor [Foke] should have continued the administration's plan to develop six toll roads, but I suspect he was afraid of being ridiculed [...] He had ignored this area for so long, now it's badly congested," Ahok told reporters at City Hall in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.
The proposed inner-city toll roads, a project initiated during former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso's term of office, 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-km 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.
The city administration has planned to begin construction of the first phase this year in cooperation with consortium PT Jakarta Tollroad Development.
"The development of the Casablanca elevated road should have been followed by the six toll roads to prevent traffic congestion," Ahok said.
Urban experts and activists have protested against the planned development of the toll roads, saying it will be counter-productive to the administration's efforts to shift commuters to public transportation. (ebf)(+++)
