Due To Passing The Old Town, HI – Ancol MRT Budget Increases By IDR 3.5 Trillion: Construction Must Be Careful

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA – The government through the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that the Jakarta North-South MRT project connecting the HI and Ancol roundabouts is one of the strategic agendas in the national railway sector.

In the latest development, Airlangga revealed that there was an increase in the planned budget from the previous Rp22.5 trillion to Rp26 trillion. According to him, the budget swelling of around Rp. 3.5 trillion cannot be separated from the high level of difficulty in working on the project.

"There is a construction complexity and unstable land conditions because it enters the Old City, so we need to be more careful," he said in a press statement quoted on Thursday, August 25.

Airlangga added that the increasing budget for the Jakarta North-South MRT had been reported to President Joko Widodo in an Internal Meeting (Rapint).

“The President's directive is of course to look at the end point of this project, because the planned end point now is in West Ancol, there are still some land issues, so we are asked to consider and look for other alternatives in the Ancol area or at the Marina. Of course, this is expected later from the acquisition of land from the Minister of ATR/BPN and the Governor of DKI," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding President Joko Widodo's visit to Japan, Coordinating Minister Airlangga said that there were several notes submitted in the Rapint.

First, regarding the evaluation of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) which is expected to be completed before the G20 Summit in Bali.

Second, it was also stated in the Rapint that the Japanese government had received the new ISPO certification and also expanded the proposed market access for canned tuna products, coffee, marine products, and tropical fruit products such as mango, pineapple, and banana.

"This is expected to be included in the general review of IJEPA where the post tariff can be improved," he said.

Furthermore, related to investment, Airlangga said that the Rapint reported several investments, namely Mitsubishi which has committed to invest Rp. 10 trillion rupiah for the Xpander EV, Toyota Group which has invested Rp. 27.1 trillion during 2022-2026, and several other investments including in the retail sector. .

Then, the Rapint also reported on the Patimban Port which will continue in the second phase in 2024-2025 with an investment of around Rp7.58 trillion and also preparations for the third phase of PPP facilities amounting to Rp3.86 trillion.

Closing his explanation, Coordinating Minister Airlangga conveyed that it was related to another project, namely the Masela LNG project, where the government is expected to be able to negotiate a planned investment of around IDR 287 trillion from Shell.

"This directive from the President is to immediately negotiate and find new investors, including considering Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund (INA) to be included in the project," concluded Coordinating Minister Airlangga.