More busway corridors in 2009

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The administration is planning to resume the expansion of the busway network in 2009 after it has evaluated the success of existing lanes.

City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said busway projects next year would be focused on improving services offered along the existing corridors as well as preparing for the construction of two new corridors in 2009.

"We will prepare detailed engineering designs and environmental reports for three new lanes to be built in the future," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said that by planning the lanes a year before their construction, the administration hoped to avoid problems such as those it encountered with the construction of corridors 8, 9 and 10.

Ritola said he was still optimistic all 15 proposed busway corridors would be fully operational by 2010, as scheduled.

The construction of corridors 8, 9 and 10 has drawn wide-spread public resistance and has been cited as the primary cause of worsening traffic chaos across the city.

The most passionate demonstrations were conducted by residents from Pondok Indah in South Jakarta, who were against the construction of a busway lane down the area's main thoroughfare.

They stepped up the scale of their protests when the administration failed to show them the results of an environmental impact analysis before starting construction in September.

Their resistance led to the administration reviewing the project last month, after which it decided to introduce mixed-use traffic arrangements in several busway lanes during peak hours.

Meanwhile, Governor Fauzi Bowo said the administration would provide an extension for construction companies to finalize work on corridors 8, 9 and 10.

"I think they have a tolerable reason for being late as a lot of protests and strikes have occurred, halting the construction process," he said.

Public resistance from Pondok Indah residents, for example, delayed the construction of Corridor 8 by two weeks in October, he added.

The head of the Public Works Agency, Wisnu Subagyo Yusuf, said if the construction companies failed to complete the corridors by the end of the extension period, they would be fined.

Corridor 8 is being constructed by PT Yasa Patria Perkasa and PT Wanita Mandiri Perkasa, who signed a contract worth Rp 69.1 billion (US$7.3 million) with the administration.

Corridor 9, to span from Pinang Ranti in East Jakarta to Pluit in North Jakarta, is being built by PT Jaya Konstruksi MP and PT Lampiri Jaya Abadi. Their contract with the administration is worth Rp 92.6 billion.

PT Widya Satria and PT Roadmixindo Jaya are constructing Corridor 10, which will link Cililitan in East Jakarta with Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and will cost the administration Rp 79.3 billion. (tif)