Residents of the Indonesian capital are being urged to leave their cars at home and use public transport

akarta, Indonesia’s bustling capital city and home to nearly 10 million people, is undergoing a transformation. The municipal authorities are taking action to restore glory to the urban sprawl, cleaning up buildings and investing in new transport infrastructure to unblock the congested streets. The plan is to put Jakarta back on the map as one of Southeast Asia’s leading capitals.

Already home to numerous dazzling glass skyscrapers and five-star hotels, the city will soon be home to the world’s tallest building as work on the Jakarta Tower accelerates. It will identify Jakarta in the eyes of people around the world when it is completed in 2010.

In the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent years, officials are determined to turn things around to reflect an improved political and economic outlook in the country. As the national capital, Jakarta is looking to play a leading role in putting Indonesia back on its own two feet.

Mr. Sutiyoso, Jakarta’s Governor, is the man behind many of the latest initiatives to improve the city’s congestion. It has not been easy. After taking office in 1997, just as the economy began to nose-dive, many plans were put on hold as investors left and money dried up. Now, the picture is very different.

SUTIYOSO Governor of Jakarta	SAIFUL IMAN Chairman of the Jakarta Monorail Project	RUSLAN DIWIRYO Ruslan diwiryo President Director of the Jakarta Monorail Project

A key task in those early days was simply to restore order to the streets and put an end to looting and rioting. This meant visiting slum areas to appease the city’s poorest people. “I visited those areas intensively. I provided food for them in the form of rice but I also communicated to them in words they could easily understand – do not loot again. Both the law and religion do not condone such behavior.”

The Governor describes the results as nothing short of miraculous, after people starting returning looted goods. With the restoration of law and order, came the next big step in putting the city back together again. This meant talking to businesses and investors to encourage them to start putting money into new projects and taking risks.

Infrastructure is a major priority. Among Mr. Sutiyoso’s achievements is the promotion of various metro transit projects designed to ease congestion and reduce pollution. He has been influential in driving forward public transport ideas such as the subway and monorail. One of the first initiatives was the creation of the city’s busway, to encourage people to leave their cars at home and use public transport instead. “If a person wishes to continue to be faced with traffic jams, then by all means they can use their personal vehicle, however, don’t blame us,” he says.

The development of the Jakarta monorail project is another visible indicator of how the city is changing. The $630 million project involves the creation of two lines – green and blue – to ease traffic flow across the city. It is expected to carry up to 30,000 passengers per hour across the city.

The first line will surround the golden triangle of inner central Jakarta, while the second will stretch from east to west, passing through the center. The project, which will incorporate 30 stations, is expected to be completed in 2006.

The development company is Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) - Jakarta Monorail Project, headed by Chairman Saiful Iman. Working closely with the local administration, his vision is to see the two lines integrate with other modes of transport in the city, such as buses and commuter services, and ultimately a subway system.

The initiative groups are Indonesian companies PT Adhi Karya, Global Profex Synergy, and Radiant Utama with Omnico Singapore. The Omnico group includes Japanese giant Hitachi, Singapore MRT Engineering, Singapore Technologies Electronics, and Temasek Holdings. Ruslan Diwiryo, President Director of the consortium, says the monorail, which will complement the busway system, was selected ahead of the other transport options because of its cost and the limited amount of land needed to build it.

“It serves a means to solve Jakarta’s traffic problem. Traffic continues to increase so building a toll road was not a solution. The subway system is more expensive, so this is the suitable solution for a city like Jakarta,” says Mr. Diwiryo. At various locations, there are plans to build park and ride facilities, enabling residents to drive to the station, park their car, and then ride the monorail.

In addition to unblocking the streets, the project is good for the local economy, creating at least 10,000 new jobs. When the system is up and running, the service will require 2,000 workers to operate it. There are plans to roll out the service later after the initial two lines have been constructed.

The Project Director of the Jakarta Monorail, Dr. Gordon S. Crighton, has had previous experience on large infrastructure projects like the Channel Tunnel rail link, between Britain and France, and the Taiwan High Speed Rail. “It’s the first public rail transport system for Jakarta, a major city, and it’s probably the last major city, certainly in the Far East, that doesn’t have a railway public transport system, so it’s that important for Jakarta,” Dr. Crighton says.

“The investment people are enthusiastically talking about this monorail system. Their enthusiasm is huge and the momentum is there. The government wants it and the people want it,” he adds. Visit Jakarta in a couple of years’ time and things will look very different.