Surabaya City to Build Pramway Network

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - The Surabaya city government will soon build a tramway network as part of a rapid mass transport (MRT) system, in cooperation with state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). To support the MRT project, the city government will set up a 'park and ride' facility, under which a park building will be integrated with the MRT system, secretary of the Surabaya city government, Hendro Gunawan, said here on Monday. The project will also be equipped with an intelligent transport system (ITS) which integrates information and communication system, transport infrastructure, vehicles and road users, he said. The ITS will have closed circuit television (CCTV), auto traffic control system (ATCS) and camera counting which will help the whole transportation system to work effectively and efficiently, he said. "The ITS will control traffic lights without disturbing the movement of trams," he said. The project will cost an estimated Rp8.8 trillion, with the city administration only providing Rp400 billion. Hendro said the central government will overcome the fund shortage. PT KAI as manager of the project will find funding sources other than the state budget by working with a private company, among others. He assured that the public can afford to pay tram fares because the government will subsidize these. "The tram fares will be within the reach of the public although there will be a role of the investor in fare structure decisions. The government will subsidize the tram fares," he said. (*) Reporting by Abdul Hakim