MRT Jakarta looks to Seoul for technical cooperation

JAKARTA, Aug 17, 2019, The Jakarta Post. MRT Jakarta will exchange engineers with its counterpart in South Korea to expand its technological capability. City-owned MRT Jakarta and Seoul Metro have signed a cooperation agreement for technology transfer to improve MRT Jakarta trains and stations. The companies were represented by MRT president director William P. Sabandar and Seoul Metro CEO Kim Tae-ho, reported The Jakarta Post.

The cooperation agreement includes explorations for operations control center (OCC) improvements, a smart automatic mechanical big data analysis system (SAMBA) and a smart station system, automatic fare collection and other technologies, especially those developed by Seoul Metro.

MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said that the cooperation was the start for technology transfer between MRT Jakarta and Seoul Metro.

“We want to share experiences and see what we can learn from Seoul Metro,” William told reporters on Thursday.

The cooperation will last for two years, during which MRT Jakarta would study which of Seoul Metro’s existing systems could also be implemented in Jakarta.

“We will start with the engineers exchange. We will send ours to them and vice versa to see what kind of system from there we can apply too,” William said.

In the meantime, he said, MRT Jakarta was also preparing to develop its own digital system, which could be the base for applying new technologies that could be learned from Seoul Metro.

William said the city’s first MRT was also preparing a QR code payment system for tickets, which was expected to be available in November.

He further added the cooperation with Seoul Metro also reflected MRT Jakarta’s desire to expand cooperation with subway operators in other countries.

For phase one and phase two of MRT Jakarta, which cover the routes between Lebak Bulus and Bundaran HI as well as between Bundaran HI and Kota, the government’s main partner is the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Phase one was funded by a Rp 16 trillion (US$1.12 billion) soft loan from JICA with a 30-year tenure and 0.25 percent interest.

Phase two funding will have a similar loan scheme with a 40-year tenure and 10-year grace period. The first-stage funding is for Rp 9.4 trillion with 0.1 percent interest and the second stage is for Rp 25 trillion and will cover a portion of phase 1 excess expenditure, as much as Rp 2.5 trillion, for earthquake mitigation measures.

William said although MRT Jakarta’s cooperation with Japan had been set in stone for phases one and two, phase three and the succeeding phases were still open for cooperation with other partners.

MRT Jakarta also recently inaugurated a park-and-ride hub at the South Quarter business center in Cilandak, South Jakarta, developed by PT Intiland Development Tbk to support motorists who want to continue their commute with the MRT.

The facility stands on a 3,500-square-meter plot that can contain at least 75 cars and 30 motorcycles.

The parking fee was a fixed Rp 5,000 for cars and Rp 2,000 for motorcycles, and the facility was exclusively for people continuing their journey with the MRT, Intiland business development director Permadi Indra Yoga explained.

“This park and ride facility will be useful for residents that want to switch from private vehicles to public transportation, especially the MRT Jakarta,” Yoga told reporters on Thursday.

A Transjakarta feeder bus has been readied to transport passengers from the park-and-ride facility to Lebak Bulus Station at a costs of Rp 3.500 per trip.