New Toll Roads Approved for Jakarta; Private Sector to Fill Funding Shortfall

The Jakarta Globe, Arientha Primanita & Camelia Pasandaran

The central government has given the green light to an ambitious multibillion dollar project to build six new toll roads to ease congestion in the capital, although the cost of the project is understood to have swelled from Rp 23 trillion to Rp 30 trillion ($3.2 billion).

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto made the announcement in Jakarta during a news conference at the Vice Presidential Palace on Thursday. The minister also approved new toll roads to connect the existing networks between Jakarta and Surabaya by 2014.

He said the government would revise the 1961 Law on Land Acquisition next year to attempt to overcome difficulties often associated with buying land for large infrastructure projects.

The proposed routes for the new toll roads in Jakarta are: Kampung Melayu-Kemayoran; Pasar Minggu-Casablanca; Kampung Melayu-Duri Pulo; Pulogebang-Sunter; Ulujami-Tanah Abang; and Semanan-Sunter.

“The tender will be started in March 2010,” Djoko said.

The city administration had been waiting for central government approval for the project, which involves 75 kilometers of new roads and is part of the city’s attempts to upgrade its creaking transportation infrastructure.

Other aspects of the plan include expanding the controversial busway system, which continues to fail to meet public expectations, and the Mass Rapid Transportation system.

The local government is hoping the first of four stages of the MRT project, an above and below-ground railway linking Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta, will be completed by 2016.

It will be partly financed by 48.15 billion yen ($541 million) in low-interest loans provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The project has, however, already become the subject of controversy concerning the tender for the system design, a contract worth Rp 180 billion.

Sarwo Handayani, the city’s assistant for development and environmental affairs, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the city welcomed the ministry’s approval of the toll road plan.

Acknowledging budget shortfalls, Sarwo said the central and local governments were yet to determine a funding split between but the private sector would be invited to invest up to 33 percent of the project cost. He said a tender process would decide who manages the toll roads, adding that it could be either city-owned enterprises or the private sector.

Governor Fauzi Bowo previously said the six toll roads would not be built all at once due to funding concerns. He also said the city had prioritized certain areas of Jakarta for toll road construction to ensure the roads became a solution to the traffic jams and not an additional burden.

The governor said the priority areas had been identified based on the existing public transportation systems in each area.