T

he Transportation Ministry’s plan to commence the construction of a depot for the light rapid transit (LRT) in Jatimulya district, Tambun Selatan, Bekasi, is likely to face a three-month delay amid a land dispute.

“At first we planned to start constructing [the LRT depot] in March, but we postponed it to June this year,” said ministry official Jumardi.

Several representatives from community units (RW) in Jatimulya have reportedly sought legal counsel.

The residents’ coordinator, Sondi Silalahi, said they would voluntarily vacate the contested land if the government involved them in talks on compensation. Sondi said the 500 families had only received a notification letter informing them of the LRT construction in the area.

“Most of us are low-income people who have been living here for 25 to 30 years. Please consider that,” Sondi said.

Jumardi said the government was open to negotiations, but would only provide compensation for the loss of buildings because, according to him, the land belonged to the government.

“We’ll invite [the residents] for negotiations once they officially appoint a lawyer,” he said, adding that the government had allocated a total of Rp 1.9 trillion (US$138 million) for land acquisition for the entire LRT project.

Two LRT cars arrived at Tanjung Priok Port on Friday from South Korea.

A total of 16 LRT cars will serve the 5.8-kilometer LRT line connecting Velodrome in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, to Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Construction of the first LRT line is set to be finished in August ahead of the Asian Games.

The event will be held from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra.

Satya Heragandhi, the president director of city-owned construction company PT Jakarta Propertindo, which is in charge of the project, said the two cars would be transported to Kelapa Gading Station, where they would be put on tracks.

“The cars will undergo testing and the commissioning process in May to be ready to operate by the end of June,” Satya said.

Satya added that the Jakarta administration would announce when the LRT service would begin.

Previously, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the LRT would not be ready for the Asian Games as several problems had been encountered in the construction process.

Satya, however, claimed that the first LRT line had reached 70 percent completion.

“We’ve completed the most critical parts of the project. All the rail sets are connected,” he said.

Satya said that the Rawamangun-Kelapa Gading line would be ready in June, but that it was up to decision makers whether it would be used for the Games.

“It will be up to the shareholders whether it will be open for the public [in June] or just for a trial run prior to the Asian Games,” he said.