Jakarta to build light rail transit

next year
Dewanti A. Wardhani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Fri, October 31 2014, 9:38 AM
Headlines News

The Jakarta administration plans to start construction of the first route of the Light Rail Transit
(LRT) system next year.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama said the LRT, which will run on
elevated rails, would act as a feeder for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). The LRT construction
will be financed by a consortium of private firms and city-owned firms, including PT
Pembangunan Jaya and PT Transportasi Jakarta, he went on.

Hopefully we can start construction on the first route of the LRT next year, Ahok told reporters
at City Hall in Central Jakarta on Friday.

The first LRT route, he said, would travel from Pulogadung in East Jakarta, to Cempaka Putih in
Central Jakarta, Senen in Central Jakarta to Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta.

Some LRT stations will be integrated with train, Transjakarta and MRT stations so commuters
can easily change transportation modes. The LRT will also act as a feeder service to the MRT
system, Ahok said.

He further said that the city administration would not earmark the 2015 budget to finance the
LRT construction.

This will be fully financed by the consortium, Ahok said. If the firms involved are fully
committed, I am sure we can finish this in one to two years.

The Jakarta Transportation Agencys head of land transportation, Emanuel Kristanto, said that
the tender for the project would be offered soon.

Emanuel said the LRT rails would be elevated to avoid traffic. He added that the Jakarta
Development Planning Board (Bappeda) was currently conducting a feasibility study to
determine the LRT stops and decide on other routes.

While Ahok has stated that he wants to complete LRT construction in one to two years, Emanuel
said that it would take at least three years to finish the first LRT route.

Ahok has said that the city administration will speed up all projects, including the MRT project,
the construction of six toll roads and the Old Town revitalization, so that they will be ready prior
to the start of the 2018 Asian Games, which Jakarta, along with Palembang, will host.

Meanwhile, Ahok said that the fate of the problematic monorail construction project was still
uncertain.

The monorail project has been in limbo since former Jakarta governor Sutiyosos tenure, as the
city administration is wary of PT Jakarta Monorails ability to fund the construction.

We still dont know [whether the monorail project will continue], Ahok said.
Transportation expert Darmaningtyas criticized the city administration for its decision to start
constructing the LRT system in 2015.

There are too many ongoing infrastructure projects in Jakarta at the moment. The city
administration should focus on finishing these ongoing projects instead of starting a new one,
Darmaningtyas told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Darmaningtyas, who is also director of the Institute of Transportation Studies (Instran), added
that the citys plan to add more Transjakarta routes had yet to be realized, let alone the MRT
construction project.

However, he acknowledged that the LRT system would be convenient for commuters. LRTs are
elevated. Bangkok uses an LRT named the SkyTrain. It wont have to deal with traffic and will
be quicker than our current electric trains, Darmaningtyas said.