Jakarta (ANTARA) - Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kazuyoshi Akaba, hoped MRT Jakarta would be able to contribute to addressing road congestion that often plagues the capital city.
"I hope the MRT can contribute to addressing the congestion on Jakarta's roads," said the Minister in Jakarta, Thursday.
He then recounted his experience when he first visited Jakarta in 1991, where he said that at the time, the city of Jakarta was plagued by severe congestion due to a large number of vehicles.
He hoped MRT Jakarta would overcome the problem. He also praised the well maintained MRT Jakarta stations and the faster speed of trains compared to the ones operating in Japan.
"I also see there are female-only train cars and spaces for people with disabilities," Kazuyoshi Akaba said as he officiated the Official Development Assistance (ODA) symbol from Japan for Indonesia. The symbol is mounted on one of the exit walls of the Bundaran HI MRT station.
Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia, Ono Keichi; Head of Economic Affairs of the Japanese Embassy, Miyashita Tadayuki; Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Shinichi Yamanaka; MRT Jakarta Construction Director, Silvia Halim, and a number of other PT MRT Jakarta officials were also present at the event.
The Phase I construction of MRT Jakarta, with the 16 kilometer route between Bundaran HI and Lebak Bulus, was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on March 24, 2019.
PT MRT Jakarta President Director, William Sabandar, said that as of December 19, 2019, the average number of passengers using the mode of transportation had reached 94,785 per day, a significant increase compared to November's numbers of 89,327 passengers per day.
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