REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announced the construction of Phase 1 of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) of Jakarta across East-West, namely from Medan Satria, Bekasi City to Tomang West Jakarta along 24.5 kilometers (km). The demonstration was carried out at Thamrin MRT Station, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (11/9/2024).
“We want to expand, widen the range of development, so that today we will build MRT mode again for the east-west cross MRT phase 1, which is from Medan Satria to Tomang with a length of 24.5 km,” Jokowi said.
According to Jokowi, the new track will extend the north-south MRT range from Lebak Bulus-Bundaran HI that has been operating since March 2019. “If we look now, north-south phase 1 has changed the face of Jakarta, it has changed the face of Jakarta's transportation and our country Indonesia,” he said.
Jokowi said that since its operation, Jakarta MRT has served about 120 million passengers. It was seen as a significant achievement for public transport in the capital. Jokowi added that the construction of the MRT is currently still ongoing, with a focus on phase 2A connecting HI-Kota Station.
The project is expected to further expand the transport network and provide ease for Jakarta residents in their daily activities. “It will give support to Jakarta as a global city, Jakarta as an agglomeration city with its surroundings, and that civilization is really a modern transportation civilization,” Jokowi said.
Also present on the agenda were Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi, Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono, and Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masaki Yasushi.