Jakarta to complete MRT land release in 2011

The Jakarta administration says it will obtain all the land needed for the city’s proposed mass rapid transit (MRT) system by 2011.

“We are certain that we will finish the land release next year and we can start building the MRT at the end of next year or in early 2012,” Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Monday as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Fauzi Bowo said that the administration has budgeted Rp 300 billion (US$33.3 million) for the land release.

In the first phase of the MRT, 15.5 kilometers of rail will be built connecting Lebak Bulus to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle: 10.5 kilometers of above-ground and 5 kilometers of underground rail.