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s the country’s capital, Jakarta may pride itself as the most connected and wired city with its highly developed infrastructure and telecommunications.

But this time it may have to give credit to Palembang, a city in southern Sumatra and the capital of South Sumatra, which will inaugurate the first light rapid transit (LRT) system in Indonesia.

While Palembang had its first trial run for its line to welcome the upcoming Asian Games last week, Jakarta is still struggling to get qualified to run because of technical problems and construction accidents.

The Palembang LRT, a 23-kilometer line that will connect Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport to Jakabaring Sport City, is set to be inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in July.

Under development by state-owned construction firm PT Waskita Karya since October 2015, the project is worth Rp 10.9 trillion (US$770.7 million) and will have 13 stations.

For a budget that is half of Palembang’s, Jakarta’s first LRT will only stretch 5.8 km from Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, to Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

Yet the project that started a year later and will only pass six stations got its application for functional feasibility certification rejected by the Transportation Ministry, resulting in its failure to launch a trial run.

City-owned construction company PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), the LRT developer, has been conducting a series of internal trials to see the readiness of the facility since May.

“We’re waiting for the Transportation Ministry to test the LRT and give us the operating certificate. Without the certificate, we won’t dare take passengers,” Jakpro president director Satya Heragandhi told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Satya said he was optimistic to operate the LRT in early August, before the commencement of the Games on Aug. 18.

Eight of 16 cars, which were made in South Korea, had been put on the railway, powered by state-owned electricity company PLN. But they have yet to gain the ministry’s certification.

The Transportation Ministry’s railway director general, Zulfikri, said several months ago Jakpro had requested the ministry test facilities and infrastructure of the LRT, yet it had yet to fulfill technical specifications set by the ministry, such as the railway component and concrete elements, making it unsafe for a run.

Jakpro conducted some adjustments and submitted another request for the test on June 22.

The lengthy process could not happen in a day as Jakpro needed some time to fulfill the required specification, but also because the ministry had spent some time to set the technical specification for the LRT.

“We took some time to determine the technical specifications because the LRT is new technology in Indonesia,” Zulfikri said.

He added that the ministry would take around 30 days to test the functional feasibility and readiness of the LRT before issuing the operating certificate.

Jakpro received a mandate from the city administration to develop the LRT in October 2016. The company started developing the facility in May 2017.

The project has been hampered for some time because of unpredictable rains and construction accidents, among others.

Satya said unexpected rainfall had delayed the construction of six LRT stations, which had just reached around 85 percent completion. He previously cited the same reason for the delay of LRT development, saying the company wanted to prioritize the safety of the construction workers.

The Jakarta LRT project was also temporarily halted after the government announced on Feb. 20 a moratorium of all elevated projects in the country due to a series of construction accidents.

In January, an accident occurred at the Jakarta LRT construction site when a box girder collapsed on Jl. Kayu Putih Raya, Pulogadung, East Jakarta, injuring five workers.

Another construction accident occurred in October 2017 when a portal gantry crane failed to set a box girder, causing it to fall onto a building on Jl. Kelapa Nias Raya, Pegangsaan Dua, Kelapa Gading, injuring one person.

Crane accidents also occurred in the LRT Palembang construction in early August 2017, injuring eight people and damaging several houses, kiosks and shops in Jakabaring.

Those elevated projects were only resumed on Feb. 27.

Unlike Jakarta’s trains, which were made abroad, the trains for Palembang were produced in Madiun, East Java, by state-owned train manufacturer PT INKA.

University of Indonesia construction expert Yuskar Lase said the city administration and developer should be realistic in fulfilling its target.

“While it was true that having the LRT might be good for the country’s image, the Jakarta LRT developer should really comply with the requirements as requested by the ministry,” he said.