Eisya A. Eloksari, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has announced that the Greater Jakarta LRT is on track to be fully operational by June 2022, a full month earlier than originally scheduled.
Construction on the light rail transit system serving Jakarta, Bogor, Depok and Bekasi (Jabodebek) is reportedly 84.7 percent complete, with a trial run to begin in April next year.
"Today, I went to take a look at progress on construction of the Jabodebek LRT [...] and we will start operations in June 2022," Jokowi told the press on Wednesday.
State-owned construction firm PT Adhi Karya, the developer of the Greater Jakarta LRT, said last year that the rail service would open to the public in July 2022.
The Jabodebek LRT is to ply two routes: the Cibubur Line connecting Harjamukti Station in East Jakarta and Dukuh Atas Station in South Jakarta, and the Bekasi Line connecting Dukuh Atas Station and Jatimulya Station in East Bekasi.
"We want to build an integrated mass transit system, [so that] the MRT, the [Jakarta] LRT, the airport train, the Transjakarta, all are integrated," Jokowi said.
"This way, it will be efficient for people to get from one point to another," he added.
The Greater Jakarta LRT is not to be confused with LRT Jakarta, which currently only consists of the Velodrome-Kelapa Gading line.
The new LRT's rolling stock is to be produced by state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api Indonesia (INKA).