NTARA News - Japan has committed itself to helping Jakarta city put its infrastructure and traffic in order through a Metropolitan Priority Area scheme to be implemented starting next year, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said.

"Japan has expressed its commitment to help Jakarta city. Now a study is still being made and expected to finish in May next year which will be followed by implementation," he said to newsmen after dedicating the Balaraja Flyover in Tangerang, Banten province, on Wednesday.

Djoko said through the MPA a better transportation system would be developed in Jakarta and its surrounding areas according to the spatial plan.

"We, the public works office, would determine which streets to be developed and prioritized while the transportation ministry would determine the railway lines and lines for other modes of transportation as well as places that may not be developed because they are used as water catchment areas and others," he said.

He said however that the development plan may not run against the Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi-Cianjur spatial plan as well as city and district spatial plans.

"For Jakarta the bylaw for its spatial plan is not still being processed by the regional legislative assembly and so is the spatial plan of the Tangerang district," he said.

Regarding the Balaraja Flyover the minister said that it was part of the Merak and Gebang (Cirebon) flyover projects which are to finish soon and operated to smoothen traffic flows and other ecnomic activities.

"In essence the government is committed to solving traffic congestion and one of the solutions is flyover," he said.

The Balaraja flyover project is a fully Japanese aid given through JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) worth Rp76.6 billion plus 345.1 million yen.

"It is carried out by a consortium consisting of PT Waskita Karya and Tokyu Construction Co.Ltd.," the director of road development for second region of the public works ministry, Winarno, said.

He said the flyover could reduce vehicle operations cost by 60 to 70 percent.(*) (H-YH/HAJM/a014)

Editor: Ruslan Burhani COPYRIGHT © 2011