President Jokowi: Jabodebek LRT Operates June 2020

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is checking the progress of the Integrated Railroad or Light Rapid Transit (LRT) which will pass in the Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Bekasi (Jabodebek) area.

He said that currently construction has reached 84 percent and will be piloted before being operationalized.

"I visited to see the progress of the Jabodebek LRT construction. Approximately 84 percent of the construction progress, 84.7 percent of the construction progress," Jokowi said as quoted from the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Wednesday, June 9.

He said, before operating in June 2022, this LRT will be tested first.

"We hope that in April 2022 the trial will start, start the trial and we will start the operation in June 2022," said the former DKI Jakarta Governor.

He explained the government's reason for building the Jabodebek LRT. According to him, this LRT will later become an integrated mass transportation.

"MRT, LRT, airport trains, TransJakarta buses are all integrated. So there is efficiency in people traveling from one point to another," he said.

Furthermore, Jokowi said that the LRT which was carried out by PT INKA would later be operated by PT KAI.

He also ensured that this project was entirely carried out by domestic companies, including the construction by PT Adhi Karya. The goal is for Indonesia to have experience in building this kind of transportation mode.

"I think experience in development like this is also what we need, so we have experience building LRT construction, experience building trains by PT INKA which will later become the foundation if we build LRT, build trains for other countries," he said.

"Now we have exported trains to Bangladesh, to the Philippines and we hope that the LRT will also be like that. Earlier, we tried the trains to be smooth, comfortable, the speed is also good, it can be said that it is silent, very comfortable," concluded Jokowi.