Minister Of Transportation Appreciates Japan For The Construction Of MRT And Patimban Port

ASEAN Minister Meeting - Japan (doc. Kemenhub)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi expressed his appreciation to the Japanese government for cooperation in two major transportation infrastructure development projects in Indonesia, namely the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Patimban Port.

The Minister of Transportation also expressed his hope that the construction of the Jakarta-Surabaya semi-fast train could be cooperated with the Japanese government until completion. This was conveyed when attending a series of events on the 18th ASEAN & Japan Transport Minister Meeting in a virtual area in Jakarta, Wednesday, November 25, 2020.

"The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, Patimban Port, and the Jakarta-Surabaya Fast Train are Japan's commitment in investing in the Republic of Indonesia," said Budi Karya in his written statement.

Patimban Port will operate by the end of 2020 with cooperation in managing the central terminal for the export-import of vehicles or automotive products (car terminal). Meanwhile, the second phase of MRT is still in the design finalization stage and will be built in 2022.

Meanwhile, regarding the Jakarta-Surabaya fast train project, construction will begin in 2022 and is targeted to be completed in 2026 or sooner.

The estimated investment value for these priority projects is Patimban Port of approximately Rp. 30 trillion, the second phase of the MRT project of Rp. 15 trillion, and the third phase of around Rp. 30 trillion. Meanwhile, the Jakarta-Surabaya fast train project requires a budget of Rp. 80 trillion.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism of Japan, Iwai Shigeki, as the Head of the Delegation of the Japanese Government, said that the Japanese side wanted the well-established cooperation between Japan and ASEAN countries including Indonesia to continue.

"I hope Japan can become a true partner of ASEAN to help solve problems in the transportation sector in the ASEAN region and discuss together efforts to restore the transportation sector during the Covid-19 pandemic by utilizing the experience we have," he said.

During the meeting, Budi Karya also emphasized that Indonesia pays attention to the importance of shipping safety such as the safety of ships that connect inter-island connectivity in Indonesia.

"I believe the safety of these ships is not only for the interests of Indonesian territorial waters but also regional waters," said the Minister of Transportation.

He also said that the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic around the world require cooperation between ASEAN and Japan countries, especially in air transportation. This cooperation is expected to increase air transport passenger confidence and support tourism and restore the aviation industry.

"This is also important to improve global economic recovery," said Budi Karya.

In the ASEAN meeting and the Japan Transport Meeting discussed cooperation in it, namely the submission of the ASEAN Japan Transport Workplan for 2020-2021 and new cooperation which includes capacity development / evaluation of container terminals in the ASEAN region, development of marine transportation safety for small ships in ASEAN waters. , and the ASEAN-Japan Action Plan on Environment Improvement Transport Sector 2021-2025.

In addition, this meeting presented several existing projects such as the final report on the cruise ship promotion strategy under ASEAN-Japan, guidelines on the maintenance of shipping channels in ASEAN, safety guidelines for shipping routes in ASEAN countries, and reports on ASEAN-Japan regional aviation agreements.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Transportation from ASEAN partner countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.