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Government mulls plan to expand MRT to South Tangerang
The central government has put forward a plan to expand the MRT Jakarta line to reach Rawa Buntu in Serpong, South Tangerang, Banten, some 27 kilometers from Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, where the MRT’s first station and depot are located
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The central government has put forward a plan to expand the MRT Jakarta line to reach Rawa Buntu in Serpong, South Tangerang, Banten, some 27 kilometers from Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, where the MRT’s first station and depot are located.
The expansion is important to accommodate the increasing number of people entering Jakarta from its satellite cities, including South Tangerang, according to Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) facilities director Edi Nursalam.
According to BPTJ records 88 million people moved around Greater Jakarta daily in 2018.
That number is far higher compared to the number in 2014, when 2.4 million people commuted every day from Jakarta satellite cities Bekasi and Depok in West Java and South Tangerang, according data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
Today, around 1.6 million people live in South Tangerang and many of them work in Jakarta
“We plan to expand the MRT line from Lebak Bulus, as it is close to South Tangerang. MRT Jakarta has also conducted a feasibility study on the plan to expand [the MRT line] from Lebak Bulus to Rawa Buntu via Pondok Cabe,” Edi said on Monday.
He said the BPTJ was conducting further studies on the possibility of a government-to-business cooperation scheme for the MRT in South Tangerang.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said MRT construction in South Tangerang could start in 2022 at the earliest and be completed in 2026, but the government was still looking for ways to fund the project.
“Yes, it is very possible [to expand the MRT to South Tangerang]. What we need to figure out is the funding scheme. In Jakarta, we shared it 50:50 [with the Jakarta administration]. In South Tangerang, the central government could possibly [take on a bigger role],” Budi said on Tuesday.
He said it was possible for the South Tangerang City administration to have stakes in the project if it had the budget for it.
The line extension is part of the US$40 billion project to expand Jakarta’s rail transportation
“We aim to build 230 km by 2030, that’s the master plan,” said MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar as quoted by Bloomberg in Jakarta. “We only have around 16 km right now, so the question is, how we can do this in an accelerated way? We can no longer just build them one by one.”
William said the company was still focusing on its works within Jakarta, namely a project to expand the MRT line from the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle in Central Jakarta to Ancol in North Jakarta, widely known as the MRT’s second phase.
After the second phase is finished, MRT Jakarta will then work on the third phase, which is the east-west line starting from Kalideres in West Jakarta to Ujung Menteng in East Jakarta.
“Until recently, there had not been any instructions from the central government to work on that lane [expansion to South Tangerang],” William told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
William said MRT Jakarta had handed over its feasibility study on the possibility of extending the MRT to South Tangerang. As a company owned by the Jakarta administration, however, the company’s current focus responsibility was on the MRT within the city’s territory.
“MRT Jakarta is willing to give input to the government or other parties willing to work on that project [MRT expansion to South Tangerang],” William said.
The first stage of the MRT spans 15.7 km from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the HI traffic circle in Central Jakarta with 13 stations. Its construction cost Rp 14.3 trillion (US$ 1 million). The central government is covering 49 percent of the construction costs, while the remaining 51 percent is covered by loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
In a recent statement, MRT Jakarta stated that it expected a profit of Rp 60 billion to Rp 70 billion this year, mainly from ticket sales, ticket subsidies and non-farebox business.
William said he was surprised to discover that income from non-farebox business had quickly exceeded that of ticket sales.
That business includes naming rights, advertisements and partnerships with telecommunication companies and retailers.
“From the non-farebox, we estimate that we will close 2019 with Rp 225 billion in revenue. That is larger than our estimated earnings from ticket sales, about Rp 180 billion,” he said on Wednesday.
“Most of our income, however, still comes from ticket subsidies, about Rp 560 billion,” he added, noting that the company also expected to earn Rp 40 billion more from bank interest.
Of the estimated Rp 1 trillion in revenue, William said the company would spend Rp 940 billion on its operational expenses by the end of the year. That leaves an estimated profit of Rp 60 billion.
MRT Jakarta is constructing the second stage from the HI traffic circle, consisting of seven stations over at least 7.8 km to Ancol, costing Rp 22.5 trillion.
The BPTJ suggests that if the MRT is extended to South Tangerang, it should consist of at least 12 stations, from the existing Lebak Bulus Grab Station to the Muhammadiyah University of Jakarta (UMJ) Station, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Station, Pasar Ciputat Station, Pasar Ciputat Station, Pustekkom Station, Pondok Cabe Station, Pamulang Barat Station, Pondok Benda Station, Babakan Station, Puspitek Station, Rawa Buntu Station and Tangerang Station.
South Tangerang has long asked for the MRT to be expanded to the satellite city, with the idea having been floated by South Tangerang Mayor Airin Rachmi Diany in 2017.
