JAKARTA, Sept 11 (Askume) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday launched the construction of new lines for Jakarta’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, a project funded by a nearly $1 billion loan from Japan to ease traffic congestion.
More than 10 million people live in Jakarta, which sometimes suffers the world’s worst traffic jams, but three times that many live in surrounding cities, and Jakarta opened its first metro line in 2019 .
The new railway line is expected to be completed in 2031 and will run 25 kilometres (15 miles) west to the city of Bekasi on the eastern border of Jakarta, Widodo said in a statement.
“The first line changed the face of transportation in Jakarta and Indonesia,” Widodo said, adding that the new line is expected to bring more benefits.
In May, the Japan International Cooperation Agency said it would provide a loan of 141 million yen ($998,000) for the project.
The JICA loan also financed the first 8 km (5 mi) MRT line between South and Central Jakarta. The northward extension is expected to be completed in 2029, seven years after work began.
(1 US Dollar = 140.9500 Yen)
