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AKARTA: Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has officially launched preparation work for the construction of the city’s first Mass Rapid Transportation (MRT) system.

“This will show the people that we are truly serious about the project,” Fauzi said on the sidelines of the launch ceremony in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, on Thursday.

MRT construction preparation work includes the relocation of the Lebak Bulus Bus Terminal and Lebak Bulus Stadium, widening the road on Jl. Fatmawati in South Jakarta — through which the MRT would pass — the relocation of utility networks (phone lines, electricity cables, water pipes, sewers and fiber-optic lines) that would be affected by the construction, as well as construction of the PT MRT Jakarta office building.

Construction for the first phase of the project is scheduled to begin in September and be completed before November 2016.

The first phase comprises construction on an MRT central station, a depot and a 15.7-kilometer line running from Lebak Bulus to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.