Groundbreaking LRT Jakarta Velodrome-Manggarai: Done 2026, Costs IDR 5.5 Trillion

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi inaugurated the groundbreaking for the construction of the 1B phase of the Jakarta LRT with the route from Velodrome Station to Manggarai Station. (Diah Ayu/VOI)

JAKARTA - The government has officially laid the first stone or groundbreaking of the Jakarta LRT phase 1B with the route from Velodrome Station to Manggarai Station. The 1B phase Jakarta LRT has a 4.6 kilometer line span which has 5 stations, namely Rawamangun Youth Station, BPKP Scout Station, Matraman Station Scout Market Station, and Manggarai Station. Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono explained that the construction of the Jakarta Phase 1B LRT will all be completed for three years. By 2024, it is targeted that the LRT will be operational until the Scout Station. "Rawamangun-Pramuka is in position in September 2024, but until Manggarai in 2026," said Heru after the groundbreaking in the Velodrome Station area, East Jakarta, Monday, October 30. The work on the LRT was carried out by the BUMD PT Jakarta Propertindo. President Director of PT Jakpro Iwan Takwin said that the construction of the 1B phase of the Jakarta LRT cost Rp5.5 trillion, which includes construction costs of Rp4.6 trillion. "There are various things, construction costs, consultants, and others, so the total is IDR 5.5 trillion," said Iwan. So far, as many as 6 LRT stations have operated with a length of 5.2 kilometers in phase 1, namely Pegangsaan Dua, North Boulevard Station, South Boulevard Station, Pulomas Station, Equestrian Station, and Velodrome Station. So, if phase 1B has been built, the Jakarta LRT has a route length of 12.2 kilometers with 11 stations ranging from Pegangsaan Dua Station to Manggarai Station. It is estimated that the journey from Pegangsaan Dua to Manggarai can be reached for 26 minutes. Today's groundbreaking of the Jakarta LRT was realized after being delayed for about two months from the initial schedule. The DKI Provincial Government initially planned to ground the LRT Phase 1B project on the route in August or September 2023. However, the plan was delayed because the procurement of construction services for the Velodrome-Manggarai route had failed to auction. Some time ago, the Head of the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, revealed that the tender procurement process had been repeated by inviting bidders who had followed the previous process and determined the winner. Jakpro, BUMD who was assigned to build an LRT, also had time to wait for the tender-winning company to hand over the project implementation guarantee.

"The tender winner to get a contract must submit an implementation guarantee. Because there is a period of time for the management. Now Jakpro's colleagues are currently in that stage, later after it is submitted, groundbreaking can be carried out," explained Syafrin.