A US$600 Million two-line monorail system is under construction in Jakarta. The system will have a total length of 27 km, which will make it the longest monorail system outside of Japan. Trains will be supplied by Hitachi:

http://www.jakartamonorail.com/jmconstruct.gif

http://buletin.melsa.net.id/news/images39/monorel2.jpg

There will be two lines. The Green Line will be a circuit of 14.8 km. The Blue Line will be a 12.2 km line that crosses the city from northwest to southeast. The system is being designed to carry 270,000 people per day. The Green Line is expected to open in 2006 and the Blue Line in 2007. A map of the system is illustrated below:

http://www.i-transitcentral.co.id/news_images/bluegreen.JPG

Presently, there is very little information about the system available on the Internet. There is an official website; however, it remains under construction:

http://www.jakartamonorail.com/

More information is available at the Indonesia Transit Central website:

http://www.i-transitcentral.co.id/

Also, an informative article appears at the following website:

http://indahnesia.com/Indonesia/Jawa/Jakarta/Jakarta.php?code=JAKMON

this is great news, been waiting for it for a long time. i hope the monorail helps ease the traffic burden in the city. once operational, i think there shouldn't be as many problems as there are with the busway system.

oh, and one more thing, i do hope the monorail cars aren't painted like that on the first pic.

wow

great news, I really like monorails, they look really great.

fantastic, this is a very good way of transport!!

oh, and one more thing, i do hope the monorail cars aren't painted like that on the first pic.

I couldn't agree more. I think the color scheme on the second pic looks much better :)

Monorail is not one of my favourites ways of transport, but ok, it seems good for the city!:)

Not sure that monorail is the most appropiate mass transit for a large city like Jakarta (10m pop with daily influx of 6m+) but it is a start. Given that it is targetted towards the more affluent areas of the city it will most likely have good patronage.

A subway in Jakarta is hard given seasonal flooding but will most likely be the only real long term solution. Although, a BRT has been introduced.

There's more on the monorail on the indo part of the forum http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=156868&page=1&pp=20.

Any construction pics would be great to see.

There's more on the monorail on the indo part of the forum http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=156868&page=1&pp=20.

Any construction pics would be great to see.

The other thread contains this picture:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/caption/1212msa04.jpg

The picture was posted by Yamauchi on December 13, 2004. I will take it as a matter of faith that the digging is for the monorail and not a sewer pipe.

It came from the Jakarta Post, which was noting the backed up traffic as a result of the monorail construction.

I would agree that a monorail system is not entirely adequate for a city the size of Jakarta. They are going ahead with a MRT project which will be financed by a Japanese bank. Still, it's not enough, but only after a few more years of increased economic activity will they be able to put forward greater visions for the city.

Yes! The subway project has been given a green light! It is not a very big network btw. Only one line has been approved. And will consist of elevated and underground station. And maybe some underwater station in case of flooding hehehehehehe.

Jakarta massive transport will mainly consist of BRT, Monorail, MRT and river transport which is all should be underconstruction by now (minus MRT).

In the near future, i think Jakarta is better off with BRTs since they are cheap and fast to build. The monorail is of course another good idea.

In the meantime, here's a picture of one Jakarta monorail station design

http://img169.exs.cx/img169/9680/prevmonorail1405304955f444378x.jpg

Cool, good for Jakarta.

but wait....

Investors ask city to finance monorail project
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta 20/02/05

Financial questions surrounding the PT Jakarta Monorail consortium, which the city administration appointed to develop an ambitious monorail system, has left the fate of the project in doubt.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday foreign investors in the consortium had asked the city administration to finance at least 30 percent of the US$650 million project.......cont.

See, http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=156868&page=2&pp=20

Here is the full text of the article form the Jakarta Post:


Investors ask city to finance monorail project
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Financial questions surrounding the PT Jakarta Monorail consortium,
which the city administration appointed to develop an ambitious
monorail system, has left the fate of the project in doubt.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday foreign investors in the consortium
had asked the city administration to finance at least 30 percent of
the US$650 million project.

"They asked the administration and local partners to help finance 30
percent of the project, while they will cover the remaining 70
percent," Sutiyoso said at City Hall.

Sutiyoso said the city administration likely would agree to the
request, pointing out that similar equity sharing schemes were used
to finance monorail projects in Bangkok and Manila.

The governor previously said investors would wholly fund the
monorail and the administration would only provide the necessary
legal facilities.

The investors said in December several foreign financial
institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic
Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation,
had asked the consortium to complete some legal documents required
to process their loans.

The legal documents included a gubernatorial decree on the use of
certain lots of land for the project. The city administration issued
the required documents, but it is unclear whether the financial
institutions have disbursed the loans.

The chairman of City Council's Commission D on development affairs,
Sayogo Hendrosubroto, rejected the equity sharing scheme.

"My answer is no. We must not take part in any financial plans made
by the consortium until we conduct an in-depth study of their plan,"
said Sayogo, adding that the councillors would have the final say on
the matter, not the consortium.

"Since the very beginning I have been suspicious and doubtful about
the consortium's ability to get the money for the project. It has
always been reluctant to disclose the sources of its financing for
us to verify," he added.

However, PT Jakarta Monorail president director Ruslan Diwirjo
denied the consortium did not have the funds to complete the
project.

"No, that is not the reason," Ruslan told the Post over the phone.

He said the reason for proposing the equity sharing scheme was to
convince foreign investors that the administration was really
serious about supporting to the project.

"Governor Sutiyoso has agreed to the proposal, but since it is
impossible to materialize the scheme in this year's city budget, we
plan to use next year's budget," he said.

The monorail project is expected to be completed toward the end of
2006.

Meanwhile, the State Secretariat, which controls the Bung Karno
sports complex in Central Jakarta, has not given permission for the
project to pass in front of the complex.

The consortium already has erected several pylons along Jl. Asia-
Africa in front of the sports complex, disrupting traffic along the
street.

The following is borrowed from a post by Tata on the Indonesia forum:

http://img220.exs.cx/img220/7513/jmon6ks.jpg
STALLED WORK: A worker uses a shovel to turn soil and gravel near a piling frame of the mass rapid transit project on Jl. Asia Afrika in Central Jakarta. The fate of the US$650 million project became unclear after the developer, PT Jakarta Monorail, asked the administration to help finance the project. JP/P.J. Leo

beritajakarta.com said governor Sutiyoso agreed on the financing scheme 30%-70% government-investors, but still unclear whether if this is included in 2005 budget. Otherwise we have to wait for another year....

Surely the Governor or city council has a large 'slush fund' lying around somewhere to at least keep construction going until a special budget allocation, perhaps from the national govt., can be put in place.

Didn't the Governors old 'tea and bickies' budget come to US$10m?

An update on how the project is coming along...



Matahari and Bukaka eye Jakarta's MRT project

Damar Harsanto and Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Matahari and Bukaka Groups have expressed interest in taking up the US$60 million equity PT Jakarta Monorail requested from the city administration to finance the $650 million mass rapid transit (MRT) system.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Monday that several businessmen, including Robby Sumampouw of the Matahari Group, were seriously studying the project.

"They are still studying the profitability of the project and the equity-sharing scheme proposed by the consortium recently," Sutiyoso said.

Earlier, the governor also said that Lippo Group was interested in the project, but Lippo denied the news just days later.

PT Jakarta Monorail's (JM) operational director Sukmawaty Sjukur, meanwhile, said on Monday that her company had met representatives of Vice President Jusuf Kalla's PT Bukaka Teknik Utama, which has also expressed interest in producing cars for the MRT.

According to her, Bukaka would cooperate with state-owned train maker PT INKA.

"They said they would soon make an official offer to Jakarta Monorail. We welcome any party interested to cooperate with us, including domestic investors," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Desperate to secure loans needed to finance the project, JM -- which Sutiyoso directly appointed to build and operate the country's first MRT system for at least the first 30 years -- had asked the city administration to inject $60 million as equity into the project.

Although the proposal was widely criticized, Sutiyoso has expressed readiness to invest in the endeavor.

The administration is also considering approving JM's proposal to use cheaper technology, rather than Japanese Hitachi technology.

"I will depart for South Korea and the People's Republic of China early next month to see their MRT technology and make a comparison between cheaper technologies and Hitachi's," he said.

According to him, the administration will make a final decision on the technology adopted next month.

He acknowledged that uncertainties had slowed the project's progress, making it likely that the target for operation, which had been set for the end of 2006, would not likely be met.

"JM has promised to make up the time lost due to the financing problem. But, I think it will miss the target. Hopefully, the MRT will be operational by early 2007 at the latest," he added.

JM, which is owned by PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) and Omnico Singapore, Pte. Ltd, has also asked for an annual tariff subsidy of up to $20 million for up to eight years to keep the MRT fare at an "affordable" Rp 5,000.

JM has also asked the administration to impose a policy whereby fees would be charged for traveling on roads parallel to the MRT's corridors to boost MRT passengers, who would presumably be discouraged from driving.

As far as I'm aware, the only thing that Rotem offers that could be considered to be a monorail is their maglev system:

http://www.rotem.co.kr/eng/Business_Activities/RollingStock/maglev/mgv.gif
http://www.rotem.co.kr/

It is possible that the term "monorail" is being used generically in the following article to describe any elevated train system. Rotem also makes conventional steel-wheeled light rail vehicles.

-------------

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20050423.G27&irec=6

Sutiyoso, Jakarta Monorail favor Rotem over Hitachi
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Jakarta's monorail project is likely to use trains produced by South Korean firm Rotem after the city administration and PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) hinted that its technology was as good as that of Japan's Hitachi.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Thursday that monorail trains produced by Rotem were relatively cheaper than others, while its technology equaled that of Japan, France and Canada.

"It is up to PT Jakarta Monorail to make the decision. I will accept it as long as it is reasonable," he said.

Meanwhile, PT Jakarta Monorail director Sukmawaty Syukur said that Rotem train-maker would soon make an offer to the company.

Sutiyoso and a number of JM executives visited China and South Korea from April 15 to April 21 to observe the monorail technology used in the two countries.

JM was handpicked by the city administration to develop and build the country's first monorail worth US$650 million using Hitachi technology.

Transportation experts, however, have criticized the project as being too expensive, prompting JM to look for cheaper technology.

Sutiyoso said the city administration had considered Japanese, Chinese, South Korean, French, and Canada technology.

During a recent hearing with City Council Commission D for development affairs, Sukmawaty said her company had expected to use Japanese technology.

However, she admitted the price of the Japanese technology was too high and that her company was considering alternative technology.

Sutiyoso had told JM to decide within two weeks which technology to apply along the 27-kilometer of monorail lines. The monorail is expected to begin operation early 2007.

JM is constructing two monorail lines -- the green and blue.

The green line will pass by Taman Rasuna, Gran Melia Hotel, Gatot Subroto, Satria Mandala, city police headquarters, Sudirman Central Business District, Bung Karno sports complex, Palmerah, Pejompongan, Dukuh Atas Railway Station, Setia Budi Utara and Kuningan Sentral.

Meanwhile, the blue line will pass by Kampung Melayu, Tebet, Dr. Saharjo, Mentang Dalam, Casabanca Interchange, Mall Ambassador, Sudirman, Karet Interchange, Kebon Kacang, Tanah Abang, Cideng, Kyai Caringain, Tomang and Taman Anggrek Mall.

JM is supported by three local companies -- PT Adhi Karya, Global Profex Synergy and PT Radian Pilar Pasifik -- and three foreign companies -- Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT), Singapore Technology Electronics (ST-Electronics) and Hitachi Asia Ltd.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20050426.G04&irec=3

City, Jakarta Monorail closer to deal with Korean Maglev
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta administration and consortium PT Jakarta Monorail are moving closer to adopting magnetically elevated vehicles (Maglev) developed by South Korea's rolling stock and train maker Rotem Corporation, which claims to have more advanced technology than the conventional monorail, and promises lower costs and better safety standards.

"It (the Korean Maglev) is my personal preference....and PT Jakarta Monorail agrees with my assessment," Governor Sutiyoso said at City Hall on Monday.

Recalling his direct observation of the Rotem Urban Transit Maglev last week, Sutiyoso said that he discovered that the technology applied in Maglev was more advanced than the outdated wheels-on-rails monorail technology, which he deemed "too costly and complicated to maintain."

"I have directly observed that the (Maglev) technology is relatively simpler than the conventional monorail and promises higher safety standards" he asserted.

No details were immediately available on how much cheaper the Maglev technology would be compared to Japan's Hitachi.

PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) has been handpicked to build and operate the capital's US$650 million monorail project expected to begin operation by the end of 2006.

Rotem's official website has made a comparison between Maglev technology and the conventional monorail, indicating that Maglev's operational costs could be categorized as "low level" as compared to monorail's "medium level," while the construction cost of both technologies is the same.

Rotem also says that Maglev trains could travel at a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour and an average speed of 40 km per hour, as compared to monorail's maximum speed of only 70 km per hour and an average speed of 35 km per hour.

"There is no possibility of derailment or puncture in the Maglev system since it uses a bogie structure that wraps around the guideway," it says, ensuring that Maglev is much safer than the conventional monorail.

Rotem, formerly Korea Rolling Stock Corp, was formed through the merger of rollingstock units of three South Korean conglomerates in 1999 -- Hundai, Daewoo and Hanjin Group.

Meanwhile, JM's president director Ruslan Diwirjo said that JM and the administration would meet with Rotem in Singapore on Tuesday (today) to seek details of the offer made by Rotem, including the project cost.

"We have yet to reach any final decision over what technology we will choose," Ruslan said.

Aside from Rotem, Ruslan said, a major company from the People's Republic of China had also offered its monorail technology.

"But, I think we will find it difficult to comply with the company's request to participate in the development of the monorail project since we already have developer Adhi Karya for the project," he told The Jakarta Post.

The city administration expects JM to decide on the technology it will adopt within two weeks.

Because of protracted problems shrouding the financing and development of the 27-kilometer monorail, JM, which is supported by local and foreign companies, will find it difficult to begin operation by the end of 2006.

JM said that the monorail was expected to begin operation early in 2007.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/050426/323/fh943.html

Tuesday April 26, 04:55 AM

Jakarta Monorail to consider SKorea's Rotem technology - report
JAKARTA (AFX) - PT Jakarta Monorail (JM (Stockholm: JM.ST - news) ), which is undertaking an intra-city mass public transit project in Jakarta, plans to meet with South Korea's Rotem Co today to discuss the latter's monorail technology offer, the Jakarta Post reported.
JM and the city administration will meet Rotem officials today in Singapore to seek details of the offer, the Post quoted JM president Ruslan Diwirjo as saying.
'We have yet to reach any final decision over what technology we will choose,' Diwirjo was quoted as saying.
JM has secured a 650 mln usd project from the Jakarta city administration to build a 27-kilometer long monorail track to help ease Jakarta's traffic congestion.
Although JM has yet to chose the monorail technology, the company and the city administration prefer to use Rotem's magnetic levitation (maglev) technology because of its lower costs and better safety standards, the Post said.
'It (the Korean maglev) is my personal preference... and PT Jakarta Monorail agrees with my assessment,' Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso as quoted as saying by the Post.
He said the wheels-on-rails monorail technology is too costly and complicated to maintain.
Besides Rotem, a Chinese company has offered its monorail technology but it wants to be involved in the construction of the project as well, Diwirjo said.
He said the Chinese company's request will be difficult to meet, as state construction firm PT Adhi Karya has already been appointed to build the project.
The city administration expects JM to decide on the monorail technology in two weeks time, the Post said.
It said Jakarta's first monorail is expected to start operating by the end of 2006, but noted that the project has been clouded by financing and development problems.
berni.km@xfn.com

For more information on Rotem's Maglev system, see the following webpages:

http://www.rotem.co.kr/eng/Business_Activities/RollingStock/maglev/maglev.asp

http://www.rotem.co.kr/eng/Business_Activities/RollingStock/maglev/maglev_adv.asp

http://www.rotem.co.kr/eng/Business_Activities/RollingStock/maglev/mgv.gif

http://www.rotem.co.kr/eng/Business_Activities/RollingStock/maglev/rutm_p.gif

Train Formation 2 vehicles (Mc1 - Mc2)

Vehicle Dimensions
Length : 13.5 m (Train Length : 27.5 m)
Width : 2.85 m Height : 3.50 m (above the rail)

Vehicle Weight
Tare : 22 tons
Full : 30 tons (6 presons/§³)

Passenger Capacity
Normal : seat - 33, standing -67
Total -100 persons / vehicle (4 persons/§³)
Full : seat -33, standing -102
Total -135 persons / vehicle (6 persons/§³)

Power Supply Voltage : 1,500 VDC

Train performance
Max. design speed : 100 km/h
Max. operating speed : 80 km/h ---------------------------->

Max. acceleration : 1.0 §¾ (3.6 km/h/s)
Max. deceleration : 1.0 §¾ (3.6 km/h/s) in service,
1.25 §¾ (4.5 km/h/s) in emergency

Noise Level : Max. 65 dB(A)

Vibration limit (Vertical & Lateral) : 0.02g

Max. gradient : 8%

Min curve radius : 60 mR (Lateral)

Propulsion system Linear Induction Motor controlled by VVVF inverter

Levitation system Electro Magnetic Suspension Type, 10mm Air-gap

Brake system Blending of Regenerative & Pneumatic Brake

The following article makes no mention of a technology switch from Hitachi Alweg trains to Rotem's maglev system. The Jakarta Monorail website still leads with a picture of a Hitachi Alweg train:

http://www.jakartamonorail.com/jmconstruct.gif

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20050616.G01&irec=0

Monorail work again as fresh funds begin to flow
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Jakarta Monorail has resumed its long delayed construction work and will soon announce its foreign financiers it said on Wednesday.

Workers have been seen erecting concrete piles for the elevated monorail track on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, in the past week.

"We have erected five new piles on Jl. HR Rasuna Said since early this month. We can install one pile per day. We expect the work to be finished by the end of July," the company's chief project officer Bovanantoo told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Bovanantoo said the company was prioritizing the construction of the five-kilometer line from its depot over the West Flood Canal to Casablanca, South Jakarta, which will be a test line.

"We will start trying to operate the monorail cars on this line next year," he added.

Word has it that the company is closer to the finalization of a deal with the project's new financiers.

The project had been brought to a halt for about six months amid difficulties in seeking foreign financiers in the project estimated to cost US$650 million.

Its financial difficulties had forced the Jakarta administration to extend the contract with the company for another six months, following the expiration of the contract on May 31, 2005.

"I heard that the company has found new financing partners. But, it has not submitted a progress report yet. We will meet soon," Governor Sutiyoso said.

Another source with the administration close to the project revealed that hopes were running high for the continuation of the project following the support of Vice President Jusuf Kalla through his company Bukaka Group.

However, PT Jakarta Monorail president director Ruslan Diwirjo declined to confirm this.

"We do have a preference among the investors. But, we have not made a final decision," Ruslan told the Post.

The company promised to announce the financiers next week.

Transportation experts have warned that the development of the monorail is not feasible, since it fails to connect with other public transportation systems, like the railway and buses, and therefore would serve few passengers.

New York-based non-governmental organization the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) had carried out a survey among 120,000 passengers using public transportation along the planned monorail routes and discovered that the demand was very low.

ITDP estimates that the 28-kilometer line will only serve 32,000 passengers per day.

Observers also said most residents would not be able to afford the fare of Rp 5,000 per single trip, much higher than fares for regular buses or trains, at around Rp 1,500, or half of the air-conditioned busway fare of Rp 2,500.

City secretary Ritola Tasmaya said that the administration would provide Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta, the east part of Senayan sports complex in Central Jakarta and Mal Taman Anggrek shopping mall in West Jakarta as parking space to encourage private car users to switch to the monorail.

"The electronic road pricing system, which will be managed by the administration, will be implemented simultaneously with the operation of the monorail," Ritola said.

Indonesian forumers (hadiwinata and encon) posted new images of construction of Jakarta monorail :

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=156868

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20050716.G01&irec=0

Consortium favors Siemens technology for MRT project
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The new consortium for the construction of the delayed mass rapid transit (MRT) project in the capital, Monorail Indonesia, has signed a memorandum of understanding over the use of German Siemens technology.

The signing ceremony was held on July 7 with little fanfare.

Among the signatories grouped in the consortium are developer PT Jakarta Monorail, American investment bank JP Morgan, Hong Kong company MTRC, Bukaka Group -- which is partly owned by the family of Vice President Jusuf Kalla -- state car train maker INKA and state electronic maker LEN Industry, as well as Hong Kong-based Mass Transit Railway Cooperation and Siemens.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa and State Minister of Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman witnessed the signing of the agreement.

"The use of Siemens technology will reduce the project's cost to US$480 million, cheaper than other bids made by South Korean company Rotem, which offers magnetic levitation technology (Maglev) or Japanese Hitachi's monorail technology," assistant to the city secretary for development affairs Hari Sandjojo told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Rotem offered its technology for $600 million, while Hitachi quoted $670 million.

Sources familiar with the MRT revealed Siemens had an advantage over the other bidders due to their requirements: First, for the Jakarta administration to subsidize the operation of the MRT for several years and second, for a stake in the electronic road pricing (ERP) system, which will be imposed on private cars using routes parallel with the MRT's.

There will be two MRT routes: the Green Line, through the business districts of Kuningan and Sudirman in South Jakarta, and the Blue Line, from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Taman Anggrek shopping mall in West Jakarta.

Hari said of the total cost of $480 million, PT Jakarta Monorail would provide $60 million, while local financiers would pay $90 million, leaving $330 million to be raised from foreign financiers.

"We expect both JP Morgan and MTRC to raise funds from foreign financiers for the project," he said.

Meanwhile, PT Jakarta Monorail director Sukmawaty Sjukur told the Post the consortium had not made a final decision.

"We will announce our final decision on the technology on July 28, the deadline for the bidders to come up with revised bids," she said.

Siemens produces a suspended monorail system; however, it is a lower speed people-mover type system:

Siemens H-Bahn in Dusseldorf
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/2/23/H_bahn_duesseldorf1.jpg

My suspicion is that the system Siemens is proposing for Jakarta will be similar to the SkyTrain system Siemens built in Bangkok, which is an elevated conventional rail system:

Siemens SkyTrain in Bangkok
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Skytrain_Saladaeng.jpg

@greg: when I first read the title of the news I was thinking it's about Jakarta Subway project, therefore I immediately tought of Siemens proposing the same train used in Bangkok Skytrain. But when understood later, it was for monorail, I become almost sure that Siemens is not proposing that model.

If we see the foundation of Jakarta monorail, currently underconstruction, they are thin. They wont be strong enough for trains like in Bangkok.

My wild guess is Siemens designs and Bukaka builds monorail. Or Siemens don't get the project as Jakarta picks Korean Rotem.

Its amazing how little space the Monorail takes up, like in terms of space on the road

Looks like PT Jakarta Monorail selects Siemens.

News in Bahasa Indonesia
http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/jakarta/2005/07/20/brk,20050720-64135,id.html

yup...siemens it is..~

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20050803.G01&irec=0

Shareholders stall monorail project due to internal rift
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A disagreement among shareholders of PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) over who should supply 76 trains for the city's first monorail line has stalled the whole project.

A source close to the deal said that Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd., which owns 45 percent of JM shares, had insisted on using trains produced by South Korea's Rotem, while PT Indonesian Transit Central (ITC), which owns the remaining 55 percent, would prefer to use trains produced by a local consortium.

The source said that using Rotem technology would push the cost up to US$826 million -- $345 million for the rolling stocks or trains and its system and the remaining $481 million for line construction.

Should JM use the technology to be developed by an Indonesia consortium, the total cost of the project would stand at around $426 million only -- $176 million for trains and its system and the remaining $250 million for line construction, the source said.

The source also said if JM used Rotem's cars, 60 percent of the revenue from the planned electronic road pricing (ERP), enforced along the roads parallel to monorail lines, should be allocated for the monorail project.

Governor Sutiyoso, who granted the project to JM, confirmed the rift on Tuesday, and gave the consortium until Thursday to decide on the rolling stock supplier.

"We can not wait much longer," Sutiyoso said at City Hall.

JM director Sukmawati confirmed the differences between ITC and Omnico about the rolling stocks supplier, saying that Thursday's consultation with the administration was expected to bridge the rift.

JM was expected to announce the technology to be used in the project on July 28.

Sutiyoso said that his administration preferred to use monorail cars produced by the Indonesia consortium, because of cost considerations.

"With Rotem cars, the total price of the project would be over $800 million. The investors are also asking for a major part of the turnover from ERP," he added.

JM predicted that the ERP revenue would reach some $100 million per year.

The Indonesian consortium, which came late to the project, is supported by several companies -- U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan, the Bukaka Group, state train carriage maker INKA, state electronic maker LEN Industries and Siemens. It is also supported by Hong Kong-based Mass Transit Railway Cooperation (MTRC).

The Bukaka Group is partly owned by the family of Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

JM and the city administration had previously terminated a contract valued at $540 million for the same project with a Malaysian company, MTrans Holding Bhd, due to financing problems.

The monorail project was started in June last year and is expected to be finished in 2007.

When up and running, the monorail will cater to transportation needs in the prime business areas of the city through a 14.3-kilometer line as well as a 13.5-kilometer line from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta.

this monorail will not materialize for sure. well well well what can you expect to the most corrupt country in asia.

Aug 6, 2005
Jakarta monorail choice upsets S'pore partner
Consortium picks Siemens technology over Maglev, which S'pore firm prefers

By Devi Asmarani
Indonesia Correspondent

JAKARTA - THE choice of technology to run Jakarta's first monorail system has upset a Singapore firm which is a partner in the project.

A consortium of investors who are to develop the monorail system has chosen local companies to supply trains based on Siemens technology.

Its foreign partner, Omnico Singapore Pte Ltd, has called the decision one-sided.

The move ended nearly six months of impasse over which monorail technology to use for the system which is targeted to be running by the end of 2007.

PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC), which owns 55 per cent of the shares in PT Jakarta Monorail, appointed The Indonesian Consortium, which includes a company linked to Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, to develop the project.

Using the technology provided by Siemens, the project would cost less than the other alternative proposed, and it would be executed about six months faster, ITC said.

'We have decided to use Siemens technology for the monorail as it is cheaper. Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso supports our decision,' ITC president Ruslan Diwirjo said after a meeting between the Jakarta Monorail Consortium members and the governor on Thursday.

Omnico, which holds 45 per cent of the project, has proposed the use of magnetic levitation (Maglev) technology from South Korea's Rotem.

Omnico chairman Abdul Rachman expressed his unhappiness at the decision following Thursday's meeting.

'We don't agree with it. The fact that we only have 45 per cent share does not mean that ITC can do whatever they want - I am very disappointed with this,' he told reporters.

He denied that the use of Maglev technology would raise the cost significantly.

Data available from the Jakarta Monorail shows that Maglev technology would cost US$826 million (S$1.37 billion), much higher than the US$496 million estimated for the Siemens technology.

'The total price of the system is only US$540 million, not US$826 million,' Mr Abdul said.

But for now there is no plan to withdraw from the Jakarta Monorail consortium, he said, as many parties from Singapore, Japan, China and India are involved in the project.

Jakarta Monorail director Sukmawaty Syukur said the project would go on with or without Omnico's involvement.

She told The Straits Times yesterday: 'Difference in opinions is normal. In the end, the decision would fall on the most affordable technology.

'Should Omnico pull out from the project, several investors could replace it,' she said.

Yesterday, the consortium held talks with several potential investors on the project.

The disagreement among shareholders of Jakarta Monorail over who should supply the 76 trains has stalled the project for some time.

The Indonesian consortium, which came late to the project, is supported by several companies - US investment bank J.P. Morgan, the Bukaka Group, state train carriage maker Inka, state electronic maker LEN Industries and Siemens.

It is also supported by Hong Kong-based Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC).

The Bukaka Group is partly owned by the family of Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

The monorail project started in June last year and is expected to carry some 30,000 passengers per hour.

The first of its two lines, stretching some 14.3km along Central Jakarta's business district, is expected to be ready in 2007.

The second line will stretch for 13.5km from east to west, passing through the city centre.

devi@sph.com.sg

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

this monorail will not materialize for sure. well well well what can you expect to the most corrupt country in asia.

Will you SHUT UP and engage in some constructive discussion, rather than making deragotary comments against Indonesia?

Anyway, the technology has been decided, it'll be SIEMENS, supported by local consortium, and valued at US$496 million. IT would've been nice to see an inner city maglev in the city, but I guess straddle is proven technology.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20050829.G02&irec=1

JM seeks investors for monorail project
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Problem after problem revolving around financial difficulties keep clouding the monorail project which is supposed to be completed in mid-2007.

After making a major decision over which company will supply the monorail trains and system based primarily on price considerations, PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) is now busy seeking more investors to finance the whole project.

JM director Sukmawaty Syukur said on Thursday that many local financial institutions had shown interest in the project.

"There are many investors interested in joining the project, particularly after we appointed the Indonesian Consortium of Monorail Industries (ICMI) which offered a lower price," she told a media conference, a few days after a rift in JM sparked by the appointment of ICMI.

Vice President of PT Andalan Artha Advisiondo Securitas (AAA) Sujoy Ganguly, a JM financial consultant, added that JM was now still discussing the financial backing with a number of companies -- both private and state-owned banks, but he refused to name them.

JM is a joint venture company supported by PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC), which holds 55 percent of shares and Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd., which holds another 45 percent.

Financial difficulties have been the main hurdle for the monorail project since ITC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city administration to use Malaysian rolling stock manufacturer MTrans in 2003.

ITC canceled the agreement because MTrans failed to provide financial support for the project.

ITC and Omnico signed a joint venture agreement to establish JM in March, 2004.

JM then sought another rolling stock company to replace MTrans. The company first mulled a proposal from Hitachi, but JM later rejected the technology because the Japanese company also could not find financial support.

JM later tried to find a rolling stock company from China and South Korea's Rotem as recommended by Omnico.

However, according to Sukmawaty, the projected cost with ICMI would only be about $498 million, while with Rotem it may reach $826 million.

Omnico executives have denied the figure, saying their budget proposal was only $540 million.

Omnico executive director Leon K. L said that his company rejected ICMI technology as its quality had not been proven.

"Price is one thing, but safety cannot be compromised. It is hundreds and thousands of life that we are carrying on board every day," Leon told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

He even said that Omnico would leave JM if ITC insisted on going ahead with its plan to use ICMI technology.

"Omnico and the rest of its shareholders are business-focused people. We are neither a charity organization nor a political group. If the business proposal does not make sense and is not bankable and deliverable, we will choose to discontinue," he added.

Sukmawaty, however, played down Leon's criticism, saying that ICMI's Monorail was a proven technology, which had been in use for 40 years.

"If Malaysia can develop its own monorail, why can't we?" said Sukmawaty, adding that three members of ICMI -- Bukaka and state owned rolling stock manufacturer INKA and state owned electronic industry LEN -- have the capability to develop a monorail.

The preceding article makes references to the Indonesian Consortium of Monorail Industries (ICMI), which proposes to build trains for the Jakarta Monorail using "proven technology, which had been in use for 40 years". The article goes on to quote an Indonesian official as stating, "If Malaysia can develop its own monorail, why can't we?".

The above statements are possibly a reference to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair Monorail:

http://webpages.charter.net/g.vassilakos/monorev/sea.jpg

Alweg, the company that built the Seattle monorail trains, no longer exists. The plans for the Seattle monorail trains are in the public domain. The trains built by Mtrans/Monorail Malaysia for Kuala Lumpur were evolved from those plans:

http://webpages.charter.net/g.vassilakos/monorev/kl.jpg

Hi to all, I’m new to this forum but hope to contribute with some information as I believe some of the statement made by ITC and new reports tend to mislead :-

1. to build a monorail boogie is different from a conventional train boogie (PT Inka only build train body), therefore ICMI need to buy or seek technology transfer from Siemens.
2. Siemens do not have a proven monorail system/technology but they only wish to supply to ICMI the following E&M items:- a) signaling and ATS b) supervisory control systems c) communication system.
3. ITC director, Sukmawaty claimed that “ICMI Monorail was a proven technology which had been in use for 40 years” is very MISLEADING as ICMI do not have the experience nor monorail technology whatsoever (they do not have a prototype as claimed). How can ICMI build a prototype without the necessary technology? ICMI want US$ 20 M for a prototype. Who will want to pay for their experiment in the development of a prototype and pray that it work and what will happen if it does not work or they are unable to complete? To be patriotic for a good and proper cause is good but please do not waste unnecessary private investors’ or public money. I do not think it is in the interest of Omnico to pay proper money and later pray and hope that ICMI can deliver on their promise.
4. HK MTRC role in ICMI is to provide project management services for the project only. Their capability is the same as SMRT (Spore) as owner, operator and providing maintenance for their system in Hong Kong. Internationally, MTRC is not a recognized independent body to have the capability of certifying ICMI to manufacture monorail nor to certify the performance or safety standards of the system. This certification is normally issued by an independent body or reputable companies such as Lloyd’s Bureau of Standard and Specification etc.
5. Malaysia Mtrans developed a hybrid monorail system (copy some from Hitachi, I think) which took them approximate 3.5 years and plenty of cost overrun which resulted in the Government providing the necessary additional fund to bail them out. The Government later realized that it was cheaper to buy a proven product than to develop new. Until recent, the system still faces safety and reliability problems which force the Government to issue a statement to said that they will shut down Mtrans system if safety is not improved (I think they still do not have the necessary internationally recognized certification)
6. Omnico Spore presented to DKI that they will Financial Close if PT JM buy from an established rolling stock supplier (Rotem Korea) and there is no financial difficulty on their part even if the cost is more expensive. ITC presented ICMI claiming that they are much cheaper and if ICMI is selected, they are ready to Financial Close.
7. “PT JM/ITC now seek more investors “ reported Jkt Post on 29/8/05. Is this ITC dream of building “AN INDONESIAN DESIGN MONORAIL” by ICMI. I’m surprised that it is so easy for them to mislead DKI to believe that they already had the necessary funding when they do not have. To get investors to invest in a non recourse (w/o government guarantee) infrastructure project in any country is never easy.
8. The Indonesian Government should not be concern about the overall cost to build the system as this is a BOT Concession without any recourse to the Government. There is NO Government Guarantee or subsidy or equity whatsoever. The amount of fare to be paid by the passengers is also controlled by the Government. Therefore the decision to buy whichever system lies with the Concessionaire. If Omnico wish to pay for a better and more expensive system now but benefit with lesser downtime performance or cheaper maintenance or save on operation cost later than it only serve to benefit the Indonesian public. Surely they have studied their business plan carefully and decided to be less profit oriented. Why should ITC object?

i was hoping that Jakarta would get the Hitachi but well...this is better than nothing...hope works are going as scheduled...it would be great for Jakarta and the SEA as a whole.

a monorail is a wonderful infrastructur

Hi to all, I’m new to this forum but hope to contribute with some information as I believe some of the statement made by ITC and new reports tend to mislead :-

...
3. ITC director, Sukmawaty claimed that “ICMI Monorail was a proven technology which had been in use for 40 years” is very MISLEADING as ICMI do not have the experience nor monorail technology whatsoever (they do not have a prototype as claimed). How can ICMI build a prototype without the necessary technology? ICMI want US$ 20 M for a prototype. Who will want to pay for their experiment in the development of a prototype and pray that it work and what will happen if it does not work or they are unable to complete? To be patriotic for a good and proper cause is good but please do not waste unnecessary private investors’ or public money. I do not think it is in the interest of Omnico to pay proper money and later pray and hope that ICMI can deliver on their promise.
...
6. Omnico Spore presented to DKI that they will Financial Close if PT JM buy from an established rolling stock supplier (Rotem Korea) and there is no financial difficulty on their part even if the cost is more expensive. ITC presented ICMI claiming that they are much cheaper and if ICMI is selected, they are ready to Financial Close.
...



I don't understand the assumption that the Rotem approach represents lower risk:

1. The articles in the press imply that ICMI would use the design of the Seattle Monorail as a starting point. The drawings are in the public domain. The question is not whether ICMI can develop a bogie design but rather whether ICMI can accurately replicate the Seattle design. Guideway switches and other details are more likely to be a problem though Mtrans has shown that such issues are not insurmountable. The Seattle/Mtrans design is not perfect. It has been criticized due to its poor ride quality; however, it is capable of doing the job. Hitachi offers the best monorail system; however, that approach was tried and proved not to be affordable.

2. To the best of my knowledge, Rotem has never built a maglev transit line. Rotem has a short test track and a prototype car. Developmental issues are inevitable in the construction of the first transit system. I would actually be more concerned with the construction of a maglev system because very tight tolerances must be maintained in the guideway structure. The gap between the levitation magnets and the guideway rails is only about 10 mm - 12 mm.

more pics:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/gado.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/jalur.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/Untitled-TrueColor-078_tmp.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/Untitled-TrueColor-05_tmp.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/Untitled-TrueColor-065_tmp.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/gado.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/jalur.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/encon/Untitled-TrueColor-078_tmp.jpg

the monorail is the most beautiful transport system

test

How is the progress on the monorail? Have they re-started work?

Its great that Jakarta is continuing its path towards rapid transit. I think one of the problems is that the trains themselves are too short and therefore have limited capacity.

Its great that Jakarta is continuing its path towards rapid transit. I think one of the problems is that the trains themselves are too short and therefore have limited capacity.

The size of the trains is just one factor in determining system capacity. The monorail has a tremendous advantage in being a grade-separated system. The length of the trains is only limited by the length of the station platforms. The frequency of the trains can be as short as 90 seconds.

Consider the numbers for an at-grade light rail system operating on city streets. The trains are limited by the length of a city block, otherwise they would block intersections while standing at stations. This generally limits the trains to three or four vehicles. A four vehicle train of about 360 feet in length can carry a maximum of about 800 passengers. If traffic signal pre-emption is provided, the frequency of the trains is limited to about six minutes. A typical light cycle time at a major intersection is about one minute. Trains operating at six minute intervals in each direction would interrupt on average every third traffic signal cycle. This is about the limit that traffic engineers are willing to accept. The result is that no more than ten trains per hour in each direction can be accommodated. The result is a limit of about 8000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). Trains can run more frequently if there is no traffic signal pre-emption; however, this leads to an adverse impact on operating speed.

Compare this to even a modest sized train that operates on a grade-separated line. Even a relatively small train with a capacity of 200 passengers operating at intervals of 90 seconds (40 trains per hour) can acheive 8000 pphpd. Some of the larger Japanese monorail trains are capable of carrying over 600 passengers. System capacities well in excess of 20,000 pphpd are achievable.

How is the progress on the monorail? Have they re-started work? The Jakarta monorail project is at a standstill because of political wranglings with no breakthrough in sight :( : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=5493645#post5493645

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20051021.G01&irec=0

Omnico quits monorail consortium, Sutiyoso says
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In another blow to the country's hopes of attracting foreign investment to the infrastructure sector, Governor Sutiyoso has announced the withdrawal of Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd. from PT Jakarta Monorail (JM), the consortium selected to construct and operate the city's monorail project.

"Omnico is no longer in the consortium. PT Jakarta Monorail has a new partner," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall after a meeting with JM executives on Thursday.

PT Jakarta Monorail is owned by PT Indonesia Transit Central (55 percent) and Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd. (45 percent).

Sutiyoso did not say why Omnico had quit the consortium nor give any details of the new partner. He did hint, however, that the new partner was a foreign company.

"They (JM executives) have just informed us at today's meeting that they will sign a deal with investors by the end of this month," Sutiyoso said.

He also said that some local investors had expressed interest in taking part in the project.

"They (the executives of PT Jakarta Monorail) have promised that they will finalize the financial stuff by the end of this month and then they will proceed to fast-track the development of the project," Sutiyoso said.

PT JM president director Ruslan Diwiryo and director Sukmawaty Syukur, who were present during the meeting, declined to comment on Sutiyoso's statement.

But through her cellular phone, Sukmawaty said pm Thursday evening that JM was still in the process of increasing the company's capital.

In trying to increase the company's capital, she said, ITC has the right to dilute Omnico's shares if it fails to add shares, and replace it with another company.

"There are many other investors who are interested in the monorail project," she added.

Omnico's executive director Leon K.L. denied on Thursday that his company had quit the consortium, but refused to go into details.

"No, we have not quit the consortium. Who said so? But I cannot explain today because I'm at a meeting ... I will answer your questions tomorrow (on Friday)," Leon told The Jakarta Post by cellular phone on Thursday.

The appointment of the Indonesian Monorail Industry Consortium (ICMI), which is partly owned by Vice President Jusuf Kalla's Bukaka Group, to supply the rolling stock has sparked rifts between PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) and Omnico.

Omnico has rejected ITC's decision to use ICMI technology and proposed rolling stocks produced by South Korea's Rotem instead.

"Price is one thing, but safety cannot be compromised! Hundreds of thousands of people will be carried by the monorail everyday," Leon told the Post in the recent interview.

He also said that Omnico would prefer to quit PT Jakarta Monorail if ITC insisted on going ahead with its plan to use ICMI technology.

"Omnico and the rest of the shareholders are business-focused people. We are neither a charity organization nor a political grouping. If the business proposal does not make sense and is not bankable and deliverable, we will chose to discontinue," he said.

ICMI is a local consortium led by Bukaka, whose shares are partly owned by Jusuf Kalla and two state firms. The consortium is supported by state rolling stock manufacturer PT INCA and the Bandung-based, state-owned National Electronics Institute (LEN).

Leon said earlier that Omnico had invested some US$10 million in the project, but Sukmawaty denied Leon's statement.

"There is no evidence that Omnico has invested that much money," she asserted.

Sukmawaty said that the total project cost would only be $489 million if JM used ICMI technology, while with Rotem the cost would come in at $826 million.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20051024.H08&irec=7

Monorail to go on in spite of raging internal dispute
Bambang Nurbianto and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite questions about financing, troubled joint venture firm PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) is confident it can complete the first five kilometers of the city's monorail system from Casablanca to Karet, South Jakarta, by March 2007.

During a visit to The Jakarta Post last week, JM director Sukmawaty Syukur said that the project was on schedule despite several delays due to changes in the masterplan.

"The monorail is the answer to the city's need for a mass, rapid and affordable transportation system," she said.

Saying Governor Sutiyoso supported the project and highlighting the environmentally friendly nature of the monorail, Sukmawaty said talks with several investors were underway.

"It's not that we have to get investors to cover the whole expenses of the project at one time ... we move on every step of the projects," Sukmawaty added.

However, the City Council said it needed to see more proof of financial security before it would give its approval for the partially city-backed project to continue.

In its agreement with the city administration, the consortium has to prove it could provide financing for the project by the end of October at the latest.

City Council Commission D member for development affairs Arkeno said that the commission would summon JM by the end of this month to update the commission on its progress.

Arkeno said the council supported the development of monorail projects but said JM should be able to convince other investors to take part.

"If the company has no ability to find investors and the financing cannot be completed in October, we may recommend that the city administration find other partners for the project," he added.

An ongoing dispute between JM shareholders: PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) that holds 55 percent of shares and Omnico Singapore Pte. Ltd. that holds the remaining 45 percent.

"If the dispute between the two cannot be resolved, there will be no financial institution interested in the project," Arkeno told the Post on Saturday.

Last week, Sutiyoso in a surprise move announced the withdrawal of Omnico from the project and said ITC already had new partner.

However, Omnico executive director Leon K.L. denied the company had left the consortium.

The appointment of the Indonesian Consortium for Monorail Industries (ICMI) to supply the rolling stock has sparked a rift between PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) and Omnico.

ICMI is a local consortium chaired by Bukaka, whose shares are partly owned by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Omnico had rejected ITC's decision to use ICMI technology and proposed rolling stocks produced by South Korea's Rotem instead.

Sukmawaty, who is from ITC, said that the total project cost would only amount to $489 million if JM used ICMI technology, while Rotem's would cost $826 million.

"The project will be supervised by German's Siemens who has decades of experience (building) fast tracks. With all of the preparations we've made, there is no reason to stop this project," she said.

I know the diffence between monorail and SkyTrain but the ideas are the same.
Is there a difference in the price and are the trains relativly the same price?

wow, looks cool!

here's the Jakarta monorail thread :D

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=156868&page=1&pp=20

It's alive! Dubai Islamic Bank is going to provide a $500 million loan and construction has re-commenced.

New thread:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=156868&page=2

I genuinely hope this project is able to go forward. There is conflicting news regarding the financing agreement with the bank in Dubai:

http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snBANK_article100748_cnt.html

Dubai Islamic denies deal to fund Jakarta project
Posted: Friday, February 17, 2006

Jakarta

Dubai Islamic Bank has clarified that it had taken no decision to fund the Indonesian capital's monorail project as reported by some newspapers.

An Indonesian daily newspaper was quoted as saying in a report that Dubai Islamic Bank had agreed to fund the Jakarta project, removing financial hurdles that have dogged the plan from the outset. It said Dubai Islamic Bank will provide credit worth $500 million to finance the project.

"The DIB clarifies that it has made no decision or commitment to finance or arrange financing for the mentioned project," the statement said.

"I have received an official letter from Dubai Islamic Bank. The monorail project should be completed soon. We need to work night and day," Jakarta governor Sutiyoso was quoted as saying in the Kompas newspaper report.

The 27km monorail project was inaugurated in June 2004 by then-president Megawati Sukarnoputri but work has been hampered by a lack of money and wranglings.

-TradeArabia News Service

Lessons learned from Asia's three MRT systems
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post
17 February 2006

The experiences of three major Asian cities indicate a mass rapid transit (MRT) system will not work effectively unless there is great political will to integrate the system on a level playing field with cars, buses and other rail projects.

"Powerful leadership is needed to plan, think through and execute the plan," a World Bank transportation expert, Jitendra N. Bajpai, said at a discussion Wednesday, citing Lee Kuan Yew and Nikita Kruschev as the figures behind the success of the Singapore and Moscow metros, respectively.

Bajpai -- part of a team studying urban rail concessions in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila for the World Bank -- said many of the failures in implementing MRT systems in these three cities derived from failed complementary actions, or unrealistic targets.

"Some expected the MRT systems to solve congestion and to improve public transportation across the board, without the complementary policies that are now recognized as necessary. These expectations were unrealistic," he said.

Transportation policies should provide a level playing field for all transportation modes through tax/subsidy and regulatory measures, otherwise MRT benefits suffer and government funding support is higher than it should be, Bajpai said, explaining that this happens when cars or buses are subsidized or when competition is not regulated.

People also need to access the MRT by other transportation modes, therefore a failure to set up seamless transfers contributed to the fact that the MRT systems in the three cities failed to get car owners to switch to the systems.

"If you had a car, would you leave your car and use the system, knowing that you needed to make so many transfers? You wouldn't do it, unless the transfers were very well done," Bajpai said.

So far, the most successful of the systems is Bangkok's 23-kilometer BTS skytrain, operating since 2000, with a ridership of 15.2 passengers per kilometer in a city of 10 million, 53 percent of whom use public transportation.

Manila's 11 million population brought in only 15.6 passengers per kilometer on its 24-km LRT III system, in a city where 72 percent of the population uses public transportation.

Other systems -- Bangkok's Blue Line subway (18 km) and Kuala Lumpur's Star (25 km), Putra (24 km) and Monorail (11 km) -- each attracted fewer than 10 passengers per kilometer.

While all of these systems began with private concessions -- in the hope of avoiding the need for public funding -- most projects did not achieve the financial returns forecast, and were taken over by the government, Bajpai said.

"Because an MRT system is expensive -- you can't just leave off once the project has started, meaning that the government needs to take over," he said, citing the Star and Putra lines in Kuala Lumpur.

Learning from the experiences of the three cities, Jakarta should try to address its transportation problems in a way that it can most afford, and not rely solely on private concessions because a strong government role is still needed to make the system feasible, Bajpai said.

"What happens is that people are attracted to a certain system without looking at how it can solve the problem. The solution is brought forward first, without looking at the problem," he said.

In every step of planning and execution, public consultation and transparency should be emphasized, and the government's focus needs to be on creating a sustainable MRT system, rather than on implementing an infrastructure project.

For Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila, "it's a tale of winners and losers, and in the end the winners are the users -- but not the poor people because fares are high -- and the losers are the government, bankers and investors", Bajpai said.

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8057/dsc062708us.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/2192/dsc062714gg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/3726/dsc062698ku.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Asia Afrika Street…

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1889/monoreluy9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9879/monorel2dw6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Wow! I can't believe this is actually pushing through there!
It will really be a boon for Jakarta, it will help the pollution situation tremendously!

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailweekly.asp?fileid=20060803.@01

Government drops plan to guarantee monorail project

Rendi Akhmad Witular and Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government announced Thursday it would not provide a blanket loan guarantee to PT Jakarta Monorail (JM) for the development of the transportation system in the capital, despite previously agreeing in principle to provide the facility.

Without the guarantee, it is likely that a consortium led by Dubai Islamic Bank will have to postpone its commitment to channel about US$500 million in loans to JM to finance the ambitious monorail project, which was initiated by the Jakarta administration.

The uncertainty over financing may lead to a halt in the ongoing construction work of the project, with the potential to exacerbate the notorious traffic jams in the capital.

Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati refused to provide the guarantee for the project because it would violate several regulations concerning transparency and fairness.

According to regulations, such a guarantee should be given to project developers appointed through a competitive bidding process, not based on a direct appointment, as in the case of JM which was selected by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

"The finance minister requested that the Jakarta administration review the feasibility study of the project in order to convince the Dubai Bank that it is profitable and risk free," Hatta said after a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

He explained that if the JM management was able to convince the bank, the future profit from the project could be used as a guarantee in securing the loans and a government guarantee would no longer be necessary.

Sutiyoso said separately Wednesday that the government had yet to reach a final decision on the guarantee requested by the consortium.

"Every person has his or her own assumptions which are different to others," he told The Jakarta Post when asked to comment on Hatta's statement.

He insisted that major projects like the monorail system should be guaranteed by the government or else no investors would be interested in the potential risk.

The Dubai Bank syndicate has expressed a commitment to financing the monorail project, but requires a blanket guarantee because of doubts it would be able to turn a profit with an estimated 160,000 passengers per day.

When completed, the monorail would serve the business districts of the city through a 14.3-kilometer line as well as a a 13.5-km route from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Mal Taman Anggrek shopping mall in West Jakarta.

JM has signed contracts with several companies, including state-owned PT Adhi Karya for civil work, PT Bukaka Trans System for rolling stocks, MTRC Hong Kong for project management and services integration and MacDonald as independent engineers.

POSTPONED

POSTPONED

Actually, I think the term "dead" might be more accurate.