Jakarta - The Government has confirmed that it will build a modern infrastructure project for the Mass Rapid Transit or Integrated Raya Mode (MRT) with the East-West route. The MRT, which will stretch from Balaraja Banten to Cikarang, West Java, will be funded by Japan.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto explained that the Balaraja-Cikarang MRT project is a Phase 3 MRT project. According to him, Japan has committed to finance this project with a value of IDR 160 trillion.

The construction of the Balaraja-Cikarang MRT route will be carried out in 2 phases. Phase 1 of development will cover the DKI Jakarta area.

Phase 1 will be divided again into two stages. Stage 1 is 24,527 kilometers (km) with the Tomang, Dukuh Atas, Senen, and Perintis to Medan Satria routes.

Stage 2 is 9,237 km long via Tomang and Kembangan.

Meanwhile, phase 2 will be divided into East-West Banten with a length of 29,900 km with the Kembangan, Kelapa Dua, to Balaraja routes. Then the road to West Java is 20,438 km with the Medan Satria and Cikarang routes.

Airlangga added that the construction of the East-West MRT is in line with the Government's efforts to reduce dependence on fuel consumption. Including an effort to reduce congestion which is the main problem for Jabodetabek.

The Government plans to provide three operational depots at MRT East-West with an estimated 1.2 million passengers per day. The East-West MRT will also cover 49 Transit Oriented Development (TOD) areas to provide a solution for massive public transportation.

Source: Liputan6