Jakarta – The government is going back to the drawing board with an express train that would connect two major airports of Jakarta, after a study indicated the track would not generate enough return to attract private investors.
This is another setback for the capital in its struggle to cope with growing urbanization and traffic.
The 34-kilometer express railway linking Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta is one of the capital's strategic projects, with a high priority for government funding, which is going to be build under a public-private partnership scheme.
However, a feasibility study conducted by the government's infrastructure financing arm Sarana Multi Infrastruktur concluded that the government will have to foot Rp 17.5 trillion ($1.3 billion), or 70 percent of the Rp 25 trillion bill for the rail track, because the revenue might be insufficient to cover the private sector's investment.
According to regulations on public-private partnerships, the government's participation in any PPP project, known as viability gap funding, is set at 50 percent of a project's cost.
"This means we have to review the plan. We can add something to the track, change the route, take a detour or skip certain locations," director general of trains at the Ministry of Transportation Prasetyo Boeditjahjono said in a recent interview.
In the original plan, the express train would start in Halim Perdanakusuma and would stop at Tebet, Manggarai and Tanah Abang stations in downtown Jakarta, before reaching Soekarno Hatta.
Prasetyo said the ministry is also drafting a presidential regulation to grant it more power to accelerate the project. The draft will also specify the project's contractor – state-construction company Pembangunan Perumahan.
The train's track will be integrated with existing network, which has been expanded by state railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia to reach the Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/business/jakartas-airport-express-train-unfeasible-govt-back-drawing-board/