Suspected negligence may have been behind a gas leak in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Monday night, after workers drilled into a gas pipe.

The workers, who were drilling on Jl. MT Haryono, hit the gas pipe at 8:41 p.m.

Although no casualties were reported, the leak in front of the National Narcotics Agency’s (BNN) headquarters closed the road for about three hours.

It also disrupted the distribution of gas to customers at the Bidara Cina low-cost apartments in East Jakarta and Kalibata apartments in South Jakarta.

Soerjaningsih, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s oil and gas engineering and environment director, said the ministry suspected negligence by a subcontractor of state-owned construction firm Adhi Karya, the project’s developer.

She said the developer should have known there was a gas pipe network, operated by state gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), underneath the road.

“Adhi Karya and PGN should have coordinated,” she added on Tuesday.

The city’s streets have been hampered by construction sites for several light rapid transit (LRT) and MRT infrastructure projects. The project in Cawang is part of an LRT route connecting the area to Dukuh Atas, South Jakarta.

Adhi Karya said the gas leak had been caused by a miscommunication between the company and its field operator.

The firm’s president director, Budi Harto, said it had told the operators not to dig in the area.

“However, they kept working even though we told them not to.”

He added that the operators would be sanctioned. “They are still in shock and we plan to question them [on Wednesday]. We also have taken the keys of the machine from them.”

The chaotic underground network of pipes and cables have also caused problems for several utility firms.

City tap water operator Aetra Air Jakarta experienced a similar incident when a water pipe under Jl. DI Panjaitan in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, was damaged after being hit by a pile driver.

A pile hammer was used to install a pile for the Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu (Becakayu) toll road project in Jatinegara.

The company’s corporate and customer communication manager, Astriena Veracia, said developers usually informed their infrastructure project manager and the operator would then be given information related to the network of pipes.

Astriena said there were many factors that could have caused the incident.

“Sometimes, the spot for [piles] has shifted slightly and even if it is only a few centimeters, it can be dangerous,” Astriena told The Jakarta Post.

City-owned Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) president director Satya Heragandhi said operators sometimes do not know the exact location of the gas or water pipes.

“For instance, in a specific coordinate, the map shows there is a water pipe but when we dig down there we found nothing,” Satya told the Post.

The company is currently developing an LRT line from Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, to Rawamangun, East Jakarta. Therefore, he said, there was an assessment that had to be done to match the map that showed the location of underground pipes and wires.

Based on his experience, if the developer needed to dig up the ground to establish piles and found pipes or wires down there, they could be moved to other spots, Satya added.

Action will only be taken if the piles are meant to be placed in a specific spot and cannot be moved to other spots.

“Documentation about the installment of [pipes and wires] underground is not complete. Operators sometimes only know there are pipes or wires after we dig up the land,” Satya said.

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