On Wednesday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo broke ground on a new 25-kilometer (15-mile) line for Jakarta’s mass rapid transit (MRT) network. One of the busiest cities in the world, Jakarta, is undergoing this expansion thanks to a roughly $1 billion loan from Japan as part of a larger effort to reduce severe traffic congestion.
The significantly larger population in the surrounding municipalities of Jakarta, which has a population of over 10 million, exacerbates the city’s severe traffic problems.
The planned MRT line will connect Bekasi, located on Jakarta’s eastern border, to the city’s western districts. Widodo emphasised that the first MRT line, which opened in 2019, had already had a substantial influence on Jakarta’s transportation network and that the additional line would further improve the city’s mobility. The new line is anticipated to be completed in 2031.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has granted a loan of 141 million yen (about $998,000) for this project, extending its support from the original MRT line. This first line, which extends 8 kilometres (5 miles) between southern and central Jakarta, is also being extended northward, with completion expected by 2029.
