TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta is no doubt to be the most crowded city in Indonesia. As the people mostly flock the streets of Jakarta, the city holds a secret beneath its ground, a sophisticated sewer and utility cables system.
Electrical cable system in Jakarta reached a total of 80,000 kilometers, long enough to circle the earth twice. Even worse, some of the cables were not in top shape, causing electrical short, such as the one that caused an explosion in Mangga Besar on August 21.
Not only electrical cables, but also a network of water supply pipes runs below Jakarta, with a total of 69,261 kilometer in length, plus transmission pipes of 4,283 kilometers. Next to water supply pipes, gas pipes underneath Jakarta run over 530 kilometers, with 25 percent of which are located below the streets. Therefore, the pipes are prone to leaking, particularly when such cases like Kelapa Gading and Cikini land drop took place last year.
TIM TEMPO