TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The bidding process for Surabaya's electric tram project is slated to begin in January 2016.

The Head of Surabaya's Development and Planning Agency, Agus Imam Sonhaji, said that tenders should be accepted beginning January, despite the fact that the Transport Ministry have yet to finish the detailed engineering design (DED) for the project. "The DED should have been done by the end of December 2015," he said.

According to Sonhaji, if everything goes according to the timeline, then the bidding process should begin in January 2016, and the entire process should be completed within one or two months. "That's if every single aspect of the project goes according to plan," he said.

Once the bidding process is completed, the tramway project - whose cost of Rp1,2 trillion is to be funded by the State Budget (APBN) - will begin construction in late 2017.

In order to find out the suitability of the soil, over which the tram lines will be constructed on, consultants for the Transport Ministry have conducted several tests on Jl. Darmo, near Bungkul Park. The tests were conducted on the median strip in order to minimise the traffic disruptions, caused by the tests.

"The consultants were trying to find out the things that lie underneath the ground - what utility pipes run to which direction, and what not," said Sonhaji.

The tram lines will be constructed on asphalt, on the sides of the median strip beginning on Jl. Raya Darmo, stretching into Jl. Urip Sumoharjo. As the tram lines enter Jl. Basuki Rahmat and northwards to Jl. Embong Malang, the trams will run on the median strip.

The tram lines will be constructed in such a way that no other vehicles could pass over the tram lines. "No land acquisition is necessary - as all the lands we need have been jointly prepared by the government, along with the Transport Ministry," said Sonhaji. "The City Administration wants to play a role in the construction, and this is our way of putting our weight the project."

ANTARA