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| Collapsing trend: Workers remove pieces of the collapsed Marunda- Cilincing bridge in North Jakarta on Sunday. The bridge, which was due to be operational by end of this month, collapsed early Sunday. Nobody was injured, but the incident raises questions about the quality of workmanship. Antara/ Reno Esnir |
A bridge
connecting Marunda and Cilincing in North Jakarta collapsed while still under
construction early on Sunday, another example of shoddy infrastructure in the
wake of the fatal collapse of the Kutai bridge.
No deaths
or injuries were reported in the incident, but financial losses are expected to
have reached to Rp 750 million (US$83,250).
City
officials were quick to begin pointing the blame.
“This is
purely human error. The quality of the concrete blocks should not be
questioned, because they are top-notch,” Jakarta Public Works Agency deputy
chief Novizal told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Once
complete, the bridge is expected to be 620 meters long. Around 70 meters of the
bridge still needs to be completed. The project is expected to be finished by
the end of December.
Novizal
said the incident had occurred when construction workers were attempting to
place a sixth 30.8-meter girder on top of the foundation pillars.
“The sixth
concrete block rolled sideways and fell on the block next to it, creating a
domino effect,” he said.
The Marunda
bridge incident comes in the wake of the collapse of the Kutai Kartanegara
bridge in East Kalimantan, which killed at least 21 people and left 15
unaccounted for.
On Dec. 6,
the 70-meter Bamba bridge over the Saddang River in Pinrang regency, South
Sulawesi, collapsed only a month after it was opened. Two days later, the 800-
meter Pikhe
bridge in Wamena in Jayawijaya district, Papua, collapsed.
On Sept.
16, 2010, a 100-meter section of the Jl. R.E. Martadinata, which connects Ancol
and the Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta subsided as a result of seawater
abrasion.
Urban
analyst Nirwono Joga said he suspected foul played a part in the Marunda bridge
collapse.
“The real
reason [the incident occurred] is because contractors and government officials
always cut corners on construction projects,” he told the Post.
On average
only between 50 and 60 percent of funds earmarked for construction projects
ends being used to pay for the actual construction, Nirwono said.
The
remainder is used for administrative purposes, such as the wheeling and dealing
needed to get the project approved by the City Council or House of
Representatives, he said.
Nirwono
urged government officials and contractors to stop corruption in infrastructure
construction projects.
“We should
not be playing with public safety. Things must change. The government should
have the will to do it,” he said.
However, a
civil engineering professor from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Rizal
Tamin, said he was convinced that human error could have been the main factor
in the Marunda bridge collapse.
“This could
have been a result of a lack of discipline in implementing the standard
operating procedures,” he said. (mim)
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