Passengers wait for a Greater Jakarta light rail transit (LRT) train at Dukuh Atas Station in Setiabudi, Jakarta on Dec 21, 2023. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Finance Ministry has approved the Greater Bandung Light Rail Transit (LRT) project following a meeting with the West Java provincial administration on Monday (Feb 19), acting governor Bey Triadi Machmudin has said.
Bey said both the ministry and state-owned infrastructure financing firm PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) considered the project to be attractive for investors.
“This [project] is one which has sparked interest among investors,” Bey said in Bandung on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
“Together with PT SMI and the Finance Ministry, we will soon decide what kind of packages will be offered.”
During Monday’s meeting, the ministry approved the building of two corridors for the LRT, the Babakan Siliwangi-Leuwipanjang route and Leuwipanjang-Tegalluar route. All termini will be within Bandung city, except the one in Tegalluar which is in neighbouring Bandung regency’s Cileunyi district.
The construction process will be run under a public-private partnership scheme involving the private sector with government guarantees. Even so, Bey admitted that so far, the specifics regarding state budget financing for the LRT project remained uncertain, whether for the construction or for procuring rolling stock.
Additionally, despite the groundbreaking target not yet being determined, Bey was optimistic that the meeting provided assurances about the fate of the LRT project.
"I want [the groundbreaking to be] this year, but we will see. The important thing is that we have assurances. Later, maybe next year, the elected governor will continue [the project] because this is necessary," he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Previously, acting West Java secretary Taufiq Budi Santoso, citing data from a World Bank study on the project, said the construction of the Babakan Siliwangi-Leuwipanjang route corridor spanning 10km would cost some Rp 10 trillion (US$639 million).
The cost would be doubled if two corridors were built of the same length.
"That means approximately Rp 20 trillion, excluding the cost of procuring the transportation mode, trains and operational costs,” he said in October, as quoted by Kompas.com.
“If it also includes the land acquisition, it is estimated the budget will reach almost Rp 30 trillion.”
Taufiq aimed to maximise the use of land owned by the central government and regional administration to reduce the cost, as he expects the land acquisition to be costly. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
