This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Kereta api bawah tanah: MRT Jakarta timur—barat ditarget selesai 2031
14 May 2024
By Erta Darwati and Lorenzo A. Mahardhika
Bisnis, Jakarta – The construction of the east-west route of Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is entering a new stage following Japan’s disbursement of a loan worth 140,699 billion yen or Rp14.5 trillion for the project.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Head of Representative Yasui Takehiro affirmed that the east-west route of Jakarta MRT would be completed in the next 7 years in 2031.
He mentioned that Japan was providing a loan of Rp14.5 trillion to Indonesia for the construction of the first phase of the east-west line of Jakarta MRT, covering 24.5 kilometres (km) from Tomang to Medan Satria.
“The project is predicted to be completed in 2031 in 7 more years,” he told the media at the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta on Monday (13/5).
He explained that the MRT's east-west route would have 21 stations, including 9 underground stations.
The Rp14.5 trillion loan from Japan to Indonesia will be distributed through JICA. The loan will have an interest rate of 0.3%, which includes a 0.2% rate per year for consultants.
He also explained that the repayment period is 40 years with a grace period of 10 years.
He also mentioned that Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) would apply to the project.
Additionally, Japanese technologies will be used to construct the underground tunnels, railway facilities, and signalling system.
STEP, which requires the use of Japanese technologies, has been in place since July 2022 as part of Japan's support to developing countries.
Moreover, the Japanese government does not rule out the possibility of increasing funding for the construction of the east-west line of Jakarta MRT.
Yasui added that the total funds required to construct the east-west MRT corridor spanning 84.1 km was higher than the loan provided to construct the first stage of the east-west line.
However, Yasui mentioned that Japan has not ruled out the possibility of funding the next phases of the east-west MRT corridor, which includes the Tomang-Kembangan, Kembangan-Balaraja, and Medan Satria-Cikarang sections. This said, he could not specify when this decision will be made.
“Currently, I do not know when the decision [to provide additional funding] will be made, but we do want to fund this project in the future,” Yasui said.
He continued that the construction process of the first phase of the east-west line commenced this year and was set to be completed in 2031.
Economic Counsellor at the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia Huronori Yahata added that the loan provided by JICA has a fixed interest rate of 0.3% per year, which includes a 0.2% rate for consultants.
He added that the loan would be provided with STEP. This means Japan will be involved in the construction of the project in the form of a technology transfer to Indonesia.
Monthly passengers
On another occasion, PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda) reported that 2.7 million passengers used Jakarta MRT in April 2024.
“In April 2024, the average daily number of passengers reached 90,316 with a total of 7,626 trips,” MRT Jakarta wrote in a press release on Friday (10/5).
The number is lower compared to March 2024 where Jakarta MRT carried 2,904,102 passengers with an average of 93,681 passengers per day.
MRT Jakarta Management continued that, on weekdays, the average number of Jakarta MRT passengers reached 122,000 passengers.
The highest number of passengers was recorded on Friday (3/4) with 143,619 passengers.
Meanwhile, the punctuality of Jakarta MRT consistently reaches 99.9%.
Moreover, ridership has increased at five stations, namely Dukuh Atas BNI, Bundaran HI, Lebak Bulus Grab, Blok M BCA, Senayan Mastercard, and Istora Mandiri.
Several factors, such as intermodal integration, buildings around stations, feeders, lifestyle programmes, and events, contributed to the increase.
To increase ridership, PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda) has collaborated with various sectors of the tourism industry, including the culinary, activities, shopping centers, health, and education sectors. They have also introduced ticket promotions at several tourist destinations.
Cooperation with several feeder operators also contributed to the increase in ridership. These feeders carry passengers from housing areas to the nearest stations.
Recently, PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda) has cooperated with Damri to provide feeder service from PIK 2 to Blok M BCA Station.
Feeders not only contribute to the increase in ridership, but also boost the number of ride-sharing users. Feeder operators account for approximately 22%-23% of the total ridership of Jakarta MRT.
