North Sumatra Community Mobility Accommodator, Government Builds Cross-Medan-Binjai Railway

KSP Main Expert, Helson Siagian, inspects the construction of the Medan' Binjai railway flyover, Tuesday, November 7. (Ist)

MEDAN - To reduce economic losses due to congestion in Medan, the government built a flyover for the Medan Binjai line. Physical development has now reached 35 percent. Main Expert Staff Officer of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Helson Siagian, said the construction of the Medan Binjai crossing rail flyover is part of the Strategic Priority Project or Major Project in the RPJMN 2020-2024 related to the construction of a mass public transport system in six metropolitan areas. Namely, Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Medan, and Makassar. Development of mass public transportation is a necessity and necessity. Moreover, congestion in urban areas has a major impact on the community and government," said Helson when directly reviewing the construction of the Medan Binjai'' railway flyover line, Tuesday 7 November. Furthermore, he mentioned that economic losses due to congestion are very large. In the Jabodetabek area, for example, the economic losses reached Rp 65 trillion per year. Meanwhile in the other five regions, namely Bandung, Surabaya, Semarang, Medan, and Makassar, reached Rp 12 trillion per year. The construction of the Medan Binjai crossing railway flyover line consists of the construction of a dual line along 6.8 kilometers, the development of Medan Station, the construction of two new stations, namely Helvetia Station and Sunggal Station, as well as the construction of an electric signaling system. This project is expected to later be able to support community activities and mobility of commuters or commuters in Medan Binjai, as well as increase economic attraction and investment in the surrounding region. This is a form of the government'' commitment in building a mass public transportation system for the people of Medan City,' Helson said. Meanwhile, the Head of the Medan Railway Engineering Center, Dedik Tri Istiantoro, said that currently efforts the acceleration of land acquisition and control of land assets with KAI, so that rail and station construction can be accelerated. This project is targeted to be completed in October 2024,'', explained Dedik.

He also said that the funding for the Medan Binjai railway flyover project was sourced from State Sharia Securities (SBSN), with a contract value of IDR 1.3 trillion. As information, in addition to the Medan Binjai project, the Ministry of Transportation also built and revitalized the Binjai Besitang railway line which is targeted to operate in February 2024.