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Vice President Boediono on Monday called for a comprehensive solution to the complicated problem of city transportation while launching six new infrastructure projects with a combined price tag of Rp 2.3 trillion.

“Day-to-day, the city’s transportation problem have been a spectacle for all of us,” Boediono said. “It has been a problem (for us to go) to the office, hampering our mobility for work, our mobility from one place to another. It’s a high cost problem.”

Boediono’s statement came during a speech where he launched the new 9.7 km stretch of the Kebon Jeruk to Penjaringan highway as part of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road at the Kayu Besar toll exit.

The highway project, worth Rp 1.7 trillion, was only one of the six new infrastructure projects launched on Monday. The other five infrastructure projects included: a flyover at Cengkareng Jakarta on the west side of the Outer Ring Road, worth Rp 130 billion; the Cut Meutia flyover in Bekasi, worth Rp. 79.8 billion; the Cibodas bridge in Tangerang, Banten, with increased capacity, worth Rp 26.77 billion; Karawang ring road in West Java worth Rp. 134.2 billion; and the 1.35 km Batanghari II bridge in Jambi worth Rp 161.4 billion.

Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmanto anticipated that the projects could help solve the traffic congestion problems in Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi and Karawang.

“This highway (Kebon Jeruk-Penjaringan) is expected to reduce the traffic on the Jakarta Inner Road, especially in the Kebon Jeruk area,” Djoko said.

The highway will be extended a further 7 km to Ulujami and will connect to the existing Ulujami-Rorotan highway and the tollroad to Tanjung Priok harbor, which is now being built.

“This is to smooth traffic flow in a way to improve the transport of goods, services and humans, as well as boost regional development,” Djoko said. “The purpose is for economic growth and people’s welfare.”

However, Boediono said that while the new highway might save fuel, it would not totally solve the city’s transportation woes.

In addition to building new roads, Boediono said that the government was considering increasing the capacity of Jakarta’s public transportation system.

“Mass rapid transport has been planned, as well as the train revitalization,” he said. “Busway problems also need to be solved.”

However, Boediono said that public transportation improvements and new roads still may not be enough to rid the capital of congestion.

“We need to manage the increase and the usage of privately owned cars over our capacity to increase roads,” he said.

Chaotic traffic, Boediono said, could harm the environment and have bad impacts on people’s health.

“It is very costly,” he said. “We also need to reduce the usage of fuel.”