TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, is concerned about the future of the Jakarta monorail project. According to Jokowi, as long as the budget is realistic and the design and construction is done in accordance to local regulations, the project would continue. "They are still doing the necessary calculations, so they haven't been able to tell us yet," said Jokowi during a meet-and-greet event on Wednesday, September 10, 2014.

According to Jokowi, the project, which began under Sutiyoso's reign as governor, is facing a lot of serious hurdles, and there are no quick solutions to the myriad of technical problems on the ground. "We have repeatedly said that it will not be easy to build a building over our roads. We haven't been able to agree on that matter," he said.

Despite his reservations, Jokowi believed that Jakarta really needs a mass transit solution because the are 28 million people commuting in and out of Jakarta. "Whether it's MRT [mass rapid transit], monorails, buses, LRT [light rapid transit], we need them all," said Jokowi.

According to Jokowi, the monorail project is a project that he has passed on to deputy government Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is set to replace him as governor in October, as Jokowi is slated to be inaugurated as President. "Our programs will resume - including the normalization of river banks and the completion of the MRT's North-South line," explained Jokowi.

Yayat Supriatna, an urban planning analyst, said that the Jakarta administration needs to have the guts to decide the fate of the monorail project. "If the contractors still cannot meet the requirements, then abandon the project and build LRTs instead," said Yayat.

According to Yayat, LRT has a number of advantages over the monorail, as it could be built to connect residential areas and business districts. The LRT network could be designed to be a part of an integrated transport solution, which includes other methods of existing public transport.

Yayat also warned the Jakarta administration to scrutinise the financial capacity of the consortium, should the LRT project kicks off. "The consortium needs to be comprised of reputable companies that are able to finance the project from beginning to the end," he said.

ERWAN HERMAWAN| AMIRULLAH|