G20 Summit, Japan and UK express interest in joining MRT Jakarta development project

Source: Jakarta Post/Indonesian Ministry of Transportation

JAKARTA (16/11) - Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) expressed their interest to participate in MRT Jakarta’s urban mass transit development project. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indonesia with Japan and UK has been signed in Bali on Monday, November 14th 2022. 

The signing was attended by the Indonesian Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi; Japanese Foreign Cooperation Deputy Minister, Satoru Mizushima; British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Owen Jenkins; and Jakarta Acting Governor, Heru Budi Hartono.

There are two memorandum of understanding that were signed. Firstly, a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between Indonesian Government and Japanese Government on the continuation of MRT Jakarta East-West Line Phase 1. Second, a Letter of Intent (LoI) between the Indonesian Government and the UK Government on collaboration for the railway project’s development. 

In this opportunity, Indonesian Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, stated that currently there are a lot of countries who are interested to invest in the transportation infrastructure development in Indonesia, especially MRT. “Japan and the UK are both Indonesia’s strategic partners that have done a lot of mutual cooperation in various sectors including transportation,” he said. 

Through this MoU, Budi hopes that it will be an initial step in accelerating MRT development in Jakarta which can be a solution in reducing traffic. This development is also a part in developing eco-friendly public transportation mode development to reduce pollution and increase clean air quality. 

“As mandated by Mr. President, it is very important to continue the development of urban public transportation such as MRT Jakarta. Currently, Jakarta is considered as a fairly representative city for a pilot development of urban mass transportation. Other places that are currently being studied in regards to MRT and LRT are Medan, Bandung, Surabaya and Bali,” he stated. 

British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Owen Jenkins, expressed his sincere gratitude for the UK participation in the development of rail transportation in Indonesia including MRT Jakarta East-West Phase 1 and LRT Jakarta projects. 

“The UK will always be ready to support the (Indonesian) Ministry of Transportation and Jakarta Capital City Government to expand the next phases of MRT including through the Expression of Interest from the UK Export Finance to prepare funding with an amount of USD 1.25 billion. We are ready to collaborate with all partners to bring this cooperation to the next step,” Owen said. 

Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Cooperation Deputy Minister, Satoru Mizushima, said that Japan has participated in the South-North (Lebak Bulus-HI) corridor of MRT Jakarta which has been officially launched by the President of Indonesia in March 2019. 

He believed that the experience of cooperation between the two countries in MRT development will help in facilitating the expansion of the next East-West corridor. “I hope that the continuation of this cooperation will enhance partnership between both countries in the railway sector onwards,” he stated. 

Source: Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia

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