TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Jakarta Monorail said the groundbreaking ceremony of the monorail project would take place on October 16, 2013. “The first stage of the monorail construction measuring 30 kilometers in length is about to begin,” Jakarta Monorail chief commissioner Edward Soeryadjaya told a press conference on Thursday, October 3, 2013.
He said his company would import 200 train carriages from China, with thirty of them imported completely built-up while the rest would be assembled in Indonesia. Jakarta Monorail founder Sukmawaty Syukur said the company would begin the project by constructing the monorail’s blue line, which was targeted to complete in three years.
The Jakarta Monorail will team up with Chinese state enterprise China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) in carrying out the project. “The investment value is US$1.5 billion or around Rp150 trillion,” Edward said.
He said the signing of the cooperation agreement was witnessed by Chinese President XI Jin Ping and President Yudhoyono. Edward explained the CCCC would design and construct the monorail project as well as developing transit-oriented stations.
The Jakarta Monorail and the CCCC have also agreed to construct a factory to assemble the carriages and provide maintenance. CCCC International executive president Mo Wenhe said the Chinese investment in the capital’s monorail project was a good move.
“We hope to share our experiences in constructing large-scale infrastructure projects,” he said. The Jakarta Monorail also said they had made an agreement with state-owned manufacturer PT INKA to assemble the train carriages and construct the factory.
MARIA YUNIAR
