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Govt approves Jakarta’s mega projects: Clean water comes first
Having signed off on Jakarta’s 10-year infrastructure plan worth Rp 571 trillion (US$40
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Having signed off on Jakarta’s 10-year infrastructure plan worth Rp 571 trillion (US$40.35 billion) last month, the central government says clean water and public transportation should be prioritized.
National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, cited during a plenary session at the Jakarta development planning forum (Musrenbang) nine mega projects, ranging from transportation and public housing to drinking water and sanitation, and flood control
The transportation sector comprises the expansion of the MRT network from the existing 15.7 kilometers to 223 km, the LRT Jakarta network from the existing 5.7 km to 116 km and the Transjakarta bus routes to 2,149 km, the construction of 27 km of elevated railway for the commuter line and the revitalization of up to 20,000 angkot (public minivans).
Projects under the transportation sector will require an investment of Rp 315 trillion in total.
Other than transportation, the city administration is also seeking to provide up to 600,000 units of public housing worth Rp 90 trillion, full coverage of clean water supply worth Rp 27 trillion, and to expand the domestic sewerage system to 81 percent coverage at a cost of Rp 69 trillion.
The city may also allocate Rp 70 trillion to construct projects related to flood mitigation and raw water supply.
All the projects are expected to be complete by 2030.
Of the nine projects, Bambang said that clean water supply and sanitation should be priorities, as those were basic needs for every Jakarta resident.
“First is the necessity to improve basic services, especially in terms of clean water and sanitation. Because there are still Jakartans who have yet to gain access to proper sanitation, let alone clean household water supply,” he said.
According to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), 63.85 percent of Jakarta residents had access to clean water last year, above the 61.29 percent national average. Meanwhile, 90.73 percent had access to proper sanitation, above the 74.58 percent national average.
“Secondly, we hope for and will support a big transformation in the context of city public transportation […] because Jakarta is home to 10 million residents, which might reach 20 million during the day. Therefore, railway-based transportation must be a priority,” he said.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the projects would be funded through several schemes, with the largest portion likely to come from loans.
The central government is currently exploring potential funding schemes for the projects. Bambang revealed that the central government had encouraged the city administration not to rely on the state budget and city budget, but to use the government-to-business cooperation (KPBU) scheme or non-state budget investment financing (PINA) instead.
“We encourage the Jakarta administration not to rely on state or city funding to build the infrastructure until 2030, but rely on the KPBU or full private participation,” Bambang said.
Both schemes allow the private sector to invest in the city’s infrastructure projects.
Of the projects, eight out of nine — excluding the angkot revitalization — may be funded using the aforementioned schemes.
Bappenas has recorded 19 national infrastructure projects already funded by implementing the KPBU scheme, including transportation, road, power and electricity, telecommunications, clean water and wastewater treatment, waste management and urban facilities projects.
Anies seconded Bambang, saying that the types of funding to be used would be announced later, once a final decision had been made.
“At this time, we are open to all [funding] options. Pak Bambang has said not to feel burdened [with funding]. Indeed, since the beginning we have not planned using only the state or city budgets,” Anies said.
Anies added that the various infrastructure developments would be conducted simultaneously.
“The point is infrastructure development [...] will be conducted simultaneously. Not gradually,” he said.
“It is much cheaper when all is conducted simultaneously, because when talking about numbers, they may seem tremendous, but it is relatively cheap compared with the economic benefits we will gain.”
