Jakarta Monorail

The Jakarta Monorail was a planned monorail system in Jakarta, Indonesia. While construction of pylons started in 2004, financial problems and legal disputes soon stalled the project, and in March 2008 developers PT Jakarta Monorail officially abandoned the project.Monorail fate Opinion - The Jakarta Post 15/03/08]

Two lines were planned: the Green line is a loop line serving Semanggi-Casablanca-Kuningan-Sudirman-Karet-Semanggi and the Blue line serving Kampung Melayu-Casablanca-Karet-Tanah Abang-Roxy-Mall Taman Anggrek.

History

The project suffered from many financial problems and frequent technology partner changes tarnished its reputation.

The project was initially awarded in 2003 to Malaysian company MTrans, the technology owner and builders of the KL Monorail, construction started in June 2004 but was halted after only a few weeks after the funds for the project stopped. MTrans' MoU was then cancelled after MTrans didn't respond adequately, and the MoU did not move towards a formal agreement.

The project was subsequently awarded to the Singaporean-led Omnico consortium, which proposed to use the Hitachi Monorail system (the base used for the KL Monorail) and then later on switched to the maglev technology by South Korean company ROTEM.

In July 2005, the project changed hands again with a new MoU granted to a consortium of Indonesian companies PT Bukaka Teknik Utama, PT INKA and Siemens Indonesia. (Vice president Jusuf Kalla, who assumed office in October 2004, owns a large stake in Bukaka.) Omnico contested this move, but construction continued nonetheless, under the assumption that the basic foundation piles and pillars can be used by whichever consortium and technology wins in the end. By 2006, a change in shareholder structure resulted to PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) controlling 98 percent of the shares in the company, leaving partner Omnico with only 2 percent, reduced from its initial 45 percent.

In March 2008, developers PT Jakarta Monorail officially abandoned the project. Then, in April, numerous pylons to support the future track were illegally demolished, probably by metal thieves. [citenews|title=Jakarta Monorail pylons disappear|date=2008-04-09|url=http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/archive062608.html|accessdate=2008-09-17] The city administration continues to look for a new partner, but no firm decision has been made. [City considers reinvesting in monorail Mustaqim Adamrah , The Jakarta Post 13/03/08]

The Project

If completed, the monorail would have included two lines. One 14.3 km loop line known as the Green line would have served the business districts of the city. The second line known as the Blue line would have been 13.5 km and would have ran from Kampung Melayu to Mall Taman Anggrek . The whole system would have had the total of 27.8 km. It would have had two interchange stations at Casablanca and Karet to allow passengers to switch between these two lines, and the Sudirman Dukuh Atas station would also have allowed passengers to switch to the Jakarta Busway and the Jakarta railway network.

References

External links

* [http://www.i-transitcentral.co.id Indonesia Transit Central Official Website]
* [http://www.i-transitcentral.co.id/jakarta_monorail.php Indonesia Transit Central-Jakarta Monorail]