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LRT construction cost could be 10 times lower, VP says
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A worker checks railway tracks in March at a construction site for the Greater Jakarta light rapid transit (LRT) project in Cililitan, East Jakarta. (JP/P.J.LEO)
V
ice President Jusuf Kalla has called on engineers to find a way to lower the construction cost of the light rapid transit (LRT) system, because the cost of the elevated projects was 10 times higher than if the lines were built on the ground.
“According to information from the Transportation Ministry, the cost would have been 10 times lower if the LRT was not constructed on an elevated structure,” Kalla said in Jakarta on Tuesday, as quoted by kontan.co.id.
Kalla was speaking before dozens of engineers at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Kempinski in Jakarta.
A number of cities had LRT tracks on the ground, he said, citing as examples Istanbul, Seattle and Madrid.
The Vice President also criticized that the LRT in Jakarta was being built close to an elevated toll road, which would hamper efforts to expand the toll road. “The toll road could not be expanded, because the LRT pillars are constructed just next to the road,” he added.
Therefore, he called on the engineers to find more effective and cost efficient ways for infrastructure construction.
Indonesia has three LRT projects: One in Palembang of South Sumatra, another in Jakarta and a third in Greater Jakarta. The construction of the 23-kilometer Palembang LRT project, which is now in operation, cost Rp 10.9 trillion (US$766 million), while the 42.1-km Greater Jakarta LRT project is estimated to cost Rp 31 trillion and the 5.8-km LRT Jakarta is expected to cost Rp 6.8 trillion. (bbn)
