Tim Ahli UGM Kunjungi Proyek MRT Jakarta
Tim Ahli UGM Kunjungi Proyek MRT Jakarta
JAKARTA - UGM expert team visited the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project Jakarta, Tuesday (18/10). The visit was held as a step of cooperative research for MRT project between PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) with Universitas Gadjah Mada. The visit, led by the Vice Rector for Planning, Finance and Information Systems, Dr. Didi Achjari SE, Akt, M.Com, Director of Planning and Development UGM, Muhammad Sulaiman ST, MT, D. Eng., and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr. Ir. Joko Sujono, M.Sc., checked the construction of underground tunnel line in Senayan and Lebak Bulus areas.
Rector, Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, MSc., Ph.D., said that the visit is the first step of UGM to send experts to support the MRT tunnel drilling until mitigation process. "We'll soon send experts in the fields of civil, geological and assessment of disaster risk management so that later we could share experience and technology," said the Rector.
According to the Rector, research on tunneling is needed for colleges and universities in Indonesia, because the technology is still very rarely applied especially on underground train transport lines. In fact, according to the Rector, in the UK the technology has been evolving for a long time. "The most urgent research is about tunnel since currently it is controlled by British and Japanese," she said.
In addition to the expert staff, the Rector added, the plan is UGM and WIKA will also conduct studies and data collection for zoning, geotechnical data and data tunnel research to determine the strength of the current tunnel that will be used for the MRT.
Muhammad Sulaiman said in addition to the field of MRT, some applied research that will immediately run by UGM and WIKA include research in the field of human capital, and concrete engineering, renewable energy and building energy monitoring system.
Director of Human Capital and Development of WIKA, Ari Askhara, said that the research cooperation with UGM is expected to help in the acceleration of MRT Jakarta project. "This joint research is expected to produce science and technology from campus for MRT project," he said.
According to the man, MRT project is not the only potential cooperation with UGM. WIKA has at least 140 projects throughout Indonesia so that it requires numerous skilled students and interns to work on the project. "We really need people on the field, I hope there are many lecturers from UGM who want to get involved," he said.
Meanwhile, the Project Manager of MRT, Kris Adiwibowo, said that the construction of the MRT tunnel from Lebak Bulus to HI Roundabout is almost complete. According to the plan, this train will be operated during Asian Games that will take place in 2018. Furthermore, the tunnel project from the HI roundabout to the village of Bandan will start next year. "Every day at this time our drill reaches 10-15 meters in length," said Kris.
He mentioned the construction of tunnel involves 393 people, including 14 Japanese, 7 Nepalese, and one Filipino. "The rest is done by the people of Indonesia," he said.
Work on the tunnel with the depth of about 17.6 meters beneath the ground is still a long-term project. Railway tunnel with a diameter of 6 meters will be used as rail road with a speed of 40 km per hour and is expected to reduce traffic congestion in the city. (UGM / adelily)