T

he bidding for the construction of an elevated highway for Transjakarta Corridor XIII, which connects Blok M in South Jakarta with Ciledug in South Tangerang, is almost finished.

Goods and Service Procurement Unit (ULP) head I Gede Dewa Sony Ariyawan said on Wednesday that the winner of the elevated road project, which is worth Rp 200 billion (US$16.54 million), would be announced next week.

'€œThe open bidding was conducted on the Electronic Goods and Services Procurement System [LPSE],'€ he said.

Public Works Agency bridge head, Indriastuty, said that the project would likely begin in the immediate future as the bidding process was almost complete.

Indriastuty said the project would not be affected by land acquisition problems as the elevated busway would be constructed above the existing road that connects Blok M and Ciledug.

Transportation Agency head Muhammad Akbar said the route would turn around on Jl. Kapten Tendean because it would be impossible to stop in Blok M.

'€œThe elevated bus way will be built above the mass rapid transit [MRT] line, so it would be impossible to build a shelter or a bus stop in Blok M because it will be too high,'€ he said, adding that the city administration would also build around 20 shelters along the route.

Akbar said the elevated busway on Jl. Kapten Tendean would also be connected with another new route connecting Jl. Kali Malang in Bekasi, West Java and Blok M.

The elevated busway will be built above the crowded road connecting Kebayoran Lama and Ciledug.

Indriastuty said the agency would assist in efforts to manage traffic during the construction period as the Kebayoran Lama-Ciledug route was known for its 24-hour gridlock.

'€œConstruction will be simplified as we will install prefabricated connecting bridges, so the effect it has on traffic will be limited,'€ she said.

Indriastuty said the project was worth Rp 2.4 trillion and would be completed in 2016.

The city administration has so far constructed 12 out of 15 planned Transjakarta corridors in the city and its surrounding areas.

Corridor XIV '€” which will connect Manggarai in Central Jakarta with Depok, South Jakarta, and Manggarai, Central Jakarta and Corridor XV that will link Kalimalang in East Jakarta, with Blok M '€” is also in the pipeline but the construction start date has yet to be announced.

The Transportation Agency has also proposed elevated roads that would connect the Pancoran intersection with Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta and with Corridors XIV and XV.

The ULP is also finishing the bidding of the revitalization project of two bus terminals '€” Kalideres in West Jakarta and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta.

Gede said the revitalization project would absorb around Rp 1.2 trillion from the city budget this year, comprising of Rp 871 billion for the Kampung Rambutan terminal and Rp 248 billion for the Kalideres terminal.

The agency has so far only finished the bidding of 68 of 5,114 program packages. The 68 packages will absorb around Rp 191.9 billion of the city'€™s huge budget.

Meanwhile, 632 are now in the bidding process while 86.31 percent or 4,414 packages have been hindered by technical and administrative issues.