The safety standards of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)’s infrastructure drive has been questioned after a series of accidents in multiple construction projects across the country, as reported by Jakarta Globe.
Since August 2017, 12 accidents have been recorded at the construction projects managed by state-owned construction company, Waskita Karya, killing at least eight and injuring dozens of people.
Just last week, a man was killed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after a retaining wall collapsed and crushed a vehicle. The wall was part of an airport train project completed by Waskita Karya.
The incident has forced the government to launch an investigation into its other infrastructure projects, and make efforts to raise safety standards. In fact, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has made an agreement with the Public Works and Housing Ministry to investigate the accident.
The airport train project will also now be supervised by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) as part of the agreement. They plan to send a team to perform quality control at the site, and the contractor has been told to replace any facilities at the construction site that do not meet safety standards.
Results of the investigation will be announced in March or April, according to Waskita Karya’s corporate secretary Shastia Hadiarti.
Photo courtesy of Tempo.com
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