MRT board given month to begin

Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has given the newly appointed board of directors of consortium PT Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Jakarta a one-month window to start the construction of the MRT.

“We want the physical construction to begin within a month. I’ve told the newly appointed directors to expedite the process,” Jokowi told reporters at the Velodrome sports center in Pulogadung, East Jakarta, on Saturday, adding that no fundamental changes had been made to the project’s preparations.

A general shareholders’ meeting (RUPS) of the consortium appointed new directors on Friday.

Jakarta Investment and Promotion Agency (BPMP) head Catur Laswanto said the meeting had agreed to replace the entire board of directors as most of their tenures had expired last month. He said Dono Boestami, previously the chief financial officer of PT Indonesia Infrastructure Finance, a financial company run by the Finance Ministry, had assumed the top position, replacing Tribudi Raharjo.

 The meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Central Jakarta, also saw Muhammad Nasir appointed the new construction director, replacing Wahyu Subagyo Yusuf; Albert Tara appointed the operational director, replacing Rachmadi; and Tuhiyat appointed finance director, replacing Erlan Hidayat who served as PT MRT Jakarta finance director for only 10 months.

Both Nasir and Albert were high-ranking officials with state-owned railway operator PT KAI, while Tuhiyat was the treasury head of state-owned mining company PT Antam.

Dono declined to comment on the target set by the governor. “With goodwill, we can all find a way,” he told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

Jokowi said he was upbeat the new directors could fulfill the governor’s expectations. “[Dono] has a good network, as well as the capacity to manage money — and we are talking about a huge amount of money, Rp 39 trillion [US$4 billion]. He also has a good track record. Meanwhile, technical positions were filled by people from PT KAI,” Jokowi said.

He added that the overhaul in the company’s leadership was necessary for a fresh start.

“We chose a new team because good teamwork will be needed to resolve the many issues regarding the project. Lower-level employees should see their new leaders as one team,” Jokowi said, but declined to elaborate on whether he thought the previous board of directors was ineffective.

The MRT project is part of the city administration’s grand plan to beat the capital’s frustrating gridlock.

The first MRT track, set to connect Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, will have six underground stations, seven elevated stations and is planned to carry around 173,000 passengers per day.

The cost for the first phase of the 15.7-kilometer-long MRT will be partially funded with a ¥ 120 billion ($1.27 billion) soft loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The central government has agreed to repay 49 percent of the loan, with the administration paying the rest.

The Jakarta Post