…OVER the next 10 years, Bangkok, Manila and Kuala Lumpur will spend billions of dollars to expand and enhance their existing mass rapid transit systems. Each city has a comprehensive plan to improve their public transportation systems to cope with growth and ensure that they do not become gridlocked. Jakarta also has a plan. It is to build an MRT that will stretch 15.2 kilometres from Lebak Bulus in the South to Central Jakarta. The city has proposed a network of 110 kilometres by 2027, which would dramatically ease traffic congestion. All the others cities mentioned above understand that efficient public transportation is critical to sustained growth. The Jakarta administration is also aware of this, but it has been stuck in planning mode for 25 years. We can only hope that projects actually move from the planning stage to the building stage some time this year.

The government has set aside $13.5bn for infrastructure development in 2011, which is a 28 per cent increase over 2010, so the money is there. Private investors have also shown a keen interest in participating in projects such as toll roads, railway lines and the MRT. But somehow … these projects have been very slow in getting off the ground. …The president is right in pointing out that many other cities also have a high number of vehicles but are able to manage their traffic much better. As he said, “Why not learn?”

Indeed, we should learn from how other megacities … have conquered their traffic woes. New Delhi, for example, appointed a no-nonsense technocrat to oversee the construction of its Metro system and … it was completed within its target time and below budget. Perhaps the city administration and the central government should empower an individual or a group of individuals to drive Jakarta's public transportation development.

These individuals should be given the power to make decisions but also be held accountable for delays and stoppages. …Although work has started on the construction of new inner-city toll roads, these are inadequate…. Jakarta needs a bold plan … if we are to ever enjoy congestion-free roads. The alternative is just too miserable to contemplate. — (Feb 23)