Jakarta Aims to Clear Skies of Wires in 5-Year Undergrounding Plan

The Jakarta provincial government is pushing forward with an ambitious plan to bury overhead power and telecommunication cables underground, aiming to beautify the city's landscape, enhance safety, and improve resident comfort. Governor Pramono Anung inspected the progress of the Integrated Utility Network Facility (SJUT) construction in the Tebet area of South Jakarta on Thursday (10/9). The governor has set a target to underground all exposed cables across Jakarta within the next five years, based on Regional Regulation Number 8 of 2025. This initiative aims to significantly transform the capital's appearance. "In accordance with Regional Regulation Number 8 of 2025, we have a strong legal basis to relocate utility cables from above ground to underground. My target is that within the next five years, all overhead cables in Jakarta will be fully moved underground, significantly changing the face of the capital," the governor stated in a written release on Thursday (10/9). To accelerate this undergrounding project, the provincial government is actively seeking collaboration with regional-owned enterprises and the private sector. The plan involves a '5M' program: utilizing SJUT, self-relocation, bundling overhead cables, cutting non-functional cables, and raising sagging cables, to ensure swift execution. "Because the business scheme is promising and the legal framework is complete, we are opening up as much space as possible for the private sector, so that this acceleration becomes a collective movement for the comfort of all residents," the governor said. On the ground, the Jakarta DKI Bina Marga Agency has reported that the SJUT network built so far has reached 41.7 kilometers. Priority sections, including Jalan Dr. Supomo, are targeted for completion by December 2026. Heru Suwondo, head of the Bina Marga Agency, explained that traffic engineering and socialization to road users are continuously carried out in coordination with the Transportation Agency, considering the surrounding traffic conditions. The provincial government is also inviting utility owners to participate in the arrangement. In areas not yet covered by SJUT, utility owners are encouraged to conduct independent relocations for faster and more comprehensive development. The plan also targets the electricity network of PT PLN (Persero). The state-owned company is preparing designs and testing low-voltage distribution boxes before low-voltage underground cable channels (SKTR) are implemented more broadly. M. Eryan Saputra, Senior Manager of Construction at PT PLN (Persero) Distribution Main Unit Jakarta, stated that the trial phase is necessary to ensure the new system meets safety standards and service reliability. "We provide full support for this city arrangement program. Currently, PLN is preparing designs and testing low-voltage distribution boxes before SKTR is implemented comprehensively," he concluded. Source: CNN Indonesia