Infrastructure Indonesia: Update Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Project Jakarta
Since the groundbreaking ceremony on 10 October 2013, witnessed by then-Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta has made progress. According to the latest updates, the first phase of the North-South line has been completed for slightly over 50 percent per July 2016. This first phase, which is estimated to require USD $1.5 billion worth of investment, connects Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to Bunderan Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta.
The Jakarta MRT is one of the large infrastructure projects that is being developed in Indonesia with the aim to improve connectivity, curtail severe traffic congestion and reduce logistics costs.
Dono Boestami, President director of Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (the company - owned by the local Jakarta administration - that is responsible for the development of Jakarta's MRT project), informed approximately 30 percent of the total USD $1.5 billion budget allocated for the first phase has been spent to realize 50.84 percent of this first phase (per July 2016). More specific, Boestami informed that 68.02 percent of the underground structure has been completed, while 33.81 percent of the physical structure above ground level has been finished.
The first phase of Jakarta's MRT involves a 15.7 kilometers-long rail-based train from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia (HI) roundabout in Central Jakarta, passing 13 stations. Seven of these stations are elevated, while six stations are positioned below the ground. This phase is scheduled to be completed by 2018.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the North-South line involves a 8.1 kilometers-long rail between Bunderan HI in Central Jakarta to Kampung Bandan, located on the border of North Jakarta and Central Jakarta. This line involves seven underground stations and one at ground level. The feasibility study of this phase has been completed, while the line is targeted to be completed by 2020.
Besides the North-South line (that is divided in the two above-mentioned phases) Jakarta's administration also wants to develop an East-West line - from Balaraja in Banten to Cikarang in West Java (thus exceeding the boundaries of Jakarta). This line is currently being studied. If authorities decide to construct this East-West line, it should be operational after 2024.
The Jakarta MRT is funded by the central government of Indonesia and the local Jakarta administration, supported by a loan from the government of Japan through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) that later merged into the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The loan from JICA is worth 125.2 billion yen, or approx. USD $1.18 billion.
Read more:
• Visit the official website of the Jakarta MRT
• Overview Jakarta MRT Project - Indonesia Investments