T

he fate of the planned light rail transit (LRT) development has become unclear as the city administration cancelled its plan to establish a management unit (BLUD).

Previously, the city administration had prepared to form the BLUD and appointed Transportation Agency official Benhard Hutajulu to head the unit. The city had even planned to earmark Rp 1 trillion (US$75 million) in the revised 2015 budget for the BLUD to begin bidding on the construction of LRT infrastructure.

However, Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama suddenly changed his mind and said that he would cancel the establishment of the BLUD.

'€œThe BLUD is working too slowly. They are afraid of holding the bid. If we leave the work to them, I doubt it would ever even begin,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday.

Ahok said that he instead would directly appoint city-owned developers PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) and PT Pembangunan Jaya as project managers in the development of LRT infrastructure on the first corridor, which stretches 21.6 kilometers from Kebayoran, South Jakarta, to Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

'€œI want Jakpro and Pembangunan Jaya to do the job. It would be much faster. I can directly appoint them with Presidential Regulation No. 38/2015,'€ he said, adding that the two firms would receive capital injections in the revised budget.

Previously, state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya (ADHI) had also agreed to develop two LRT routes: one stretching from Cibubur to Cawang, in East Jakarta, to Grogol in West Jakarta, and another from Bekasi in West Java to Kuningan in South Jakarta and then to Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta. ADHI proposed a rights issue as part of its efforts to raise funds for the development of the LRT lines.

However, the lack of coordination between ADHI and the city administration caused a misunderstanding between the two parties, which may have hampered construction.

ADHI made a route plan, plotting for land in Cawang to become their station and land in Cibubur to become their depot without consulting the city administration. Later, the city said that they could not use either plots because the one in Cawang was for reserved for green space and the one in Cibubur belonged to the Maritime and Fisheries Agency.

However, last month ADHI revised their plan, saying that they would use their own land plot for the depot in East Bekasi and build an elevated station in Cawang. The company planned to break ground on Aug. 17.

Separately, City Council deputy speaker Triwisaksana '€œSani'€ of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction said that the city administration must establish a clear institution, whether it be a unit under the Transportation Agency or a city-owned firm, which would later manage and operate the trains.

'€œThe city administration must first establish a clear institution to manage the LRT. We [councilor] have not been clearly informed on this yet,'€ Sani recently told reporters at the City Council building in Central Jakarta.

He went on to say that the city administration could not directly appoint Jakpro and Pembangunan Jaya and would need to go through a bidding process to develop the LRT system. '€œWe suggest that the city administration establish clear management on the LRT because construction would not be able to start without it,'€ he said.

Other than the routes built by ADHI, the city is also planning six other corridors: a 17.6 km route from Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, to Pulomas, East Jakarta, an 11 km route from Joglo, West Jakarta, to Tanah Abang, a 9.3 km route from Puri Kembangan, West Jakarta, to Tanah Abang, a 20.7 km route from Pesing, West Jakarta, to Kelapa Gading, an 18.5 km route from Pesing to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang and a 10 km route from Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, to Ancol, North Jakarta.