Indonesian President Joko Widodo launched construction on Wednesday for a new line on Jakarta’s mass rapid transit (MRT) system, funded by a loan of nearly $1 billion from Japan, in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion.
Sometimes paralysed by some of the world’s worst traffic jams, Jakarta is home to more than 10 million, but three times the number live in surrounding towns, and it launched its first MRT line in 2019.
Expected to be completed by 2031, the new line will run 25 km (15 miles) between the city of Bekasi, on Jakarta’s eastern border, to its west, Widodo said in a statement.