Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration is currently investigating allegations that busway operator TransJakarta has been paying inflated operational rates to bus suppliers.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said on the weekend the administration was in the process of questioning officials at several busway-related organizations.

"We're investigating people who may be involved," he said.

The allegations were sparked after bus suppliers PT Primajasa and PT Lorena won recent public tenders to supply busway busses, offering significantly lower operational fees than existing suppliers.

The administration conducted several tenders recently to find new operators for corridors IV to VII, which have all been plagued with overcrowding problems since last year.

Primajasa outbidded its competitors after offering a rate of Rp 9,536 (approximately US$1.00) per kilometer on Corridor IV and Rp 9,371 per kilometer on Corridor VI, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

Lorena submitted a bid of Rp 16,661 per kilometer to operate busses on Corridor V and Rp 9,443 on Corridor VII.

Corridor IV stretches between Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta and Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta, Corridor V runs between Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta and Ancol in North Jakarta and corridor VI extends from Ragunan to Kuningan, both of which are in South Jakarta. Commuters can travel between Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta and Kampung Melayu using Corridor VII.

TransJakarta reimburses bus suppliers based on agreed operational fees, which are paid for each kilometer busses travel. Fees depend on the consumption level of compressed natural gas, lane conditions and lane distance.

Current bus supplier PT Jakarta Trans Metropolitan operates along corridors IV and VI and charges TransJakarta Rp 12,885 per kilometer traveled.

PT Jakarta Mega Trans, another bus supplier, charges TransJakarta Rp 12,885 for each kilometer traveled on corridor VII.

Jakarta Mega Trans, which is responsible for corridor V, is yet to operate 17 currently idle buses. The company agreed to charge TransJakarta Rp 22,597 per kilometer.

Almost 70 percent of TransJakarta's operational costs last year, amounting to Rp 400 billion, were spent on paying bus suppliers.

The operational fees calculated by stakeholders are taken into account in the city budget each year to determine busway subsidies.

Jakarta Transportation Agency head Nurachman said he was unaware of any developments in the ongoing investigation.

TransJakarta head Drajad Adhyaksa was not available to comment on the issue when contacted by The Jakarta Post.

 

Tags: Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, TransJakartas operational costs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Almost 100 fish processing companies located in North Jakarta's Muara Baru have been forced to cease operations due to high tides that have inundated the area for several weeks.

The Nizam Zachman fishing port in Muara Baru, which is home to 163 companies, is not accessible to vehicles carrying fish during the day as the road leading up to it is generally flooded.

As of Monday, floodwaters in the area had reached 1.2 meters.

Head of the port Bambang Sutejo said only 66 companies located in the area had been able to continue operating.

"The rest have temporarily closed down," Bambang told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Bambang said fishing boats were not affected by the tides and were able to dock at the port at any time of the day.

However, catches could not be transported directly to fish processors and exporting companies until the high tides receded, which usually occurred after 5 p.m.

"If vehicles cannot pass the road until 5 p.m., workers have to wait for hours and work overtime. Companies have to pay more in wages and the health of workers is also at risk," he said.

Bambang said companies operating at the port exported fish products to Europe, Japan and the United States.

He said some 41,000 workers were employed at the port, which also provides fish to more than 500 local retail stores and 100 street vendors.

"We have lost on average 50 percent of our usual daily revenue," Bambang said.

On a normal day, companies at the port collectively make up to Rp 10 billion from 110 tons of fish brought in by fishing boats.

"But now this figure has fallen to around Rp 5 billion per day from 90 tons of fish," Bambang said.

He said even though fish supplies had only dropped by 20 tons, slower distribution had decreased the price of fish.

Suparjo, the general manager of PT Pelindo II Sunda Kelapa, said high tides had also affected business at neighboring Sunda Kelapa port.

"Because of the high tides, many ships have chosen to dock at Tanjung Priok port. We have lost hundreds of millions of rupiah because of this," Suparjo told the Post on Monday.

He said his company tried to prevent flooding by building retainer walls. However, the tides were higher than the 100-centimeter walls, resulting in the area becoming flooded.

At Nizam Zachman port, retainer walls were also built in anticipation of the floods, Bambang said.

However, due to limited funds, the port authority had not been able to complete all of the necessary walls, he said.

"We haven't finished building the walls. As a result, sea water enters and inundates the port. We have to wait for more funding next year to complete the project," he said.

He said plans were also in place to raise the height of the road entering the port by 1.2 meters next year. (tif)

Tags: due to limited funds, High Tides, The Jakarta Post