Indonesia Plans to Secure World Bank Loan to Solve Traffic Congestion Issue

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in a limited meeting held today, August 3, with Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, discussed the transportation development plan in Bandung Basin or Greater Bandung, planning to take a loan from the World Bank.

Minister Budi said Jokowi asked him to evaluate the transportation aspect of Bandung Basin, also known as the Bandung metropolitan area. "The President instructed us to evaluate the Bandung metropolitan area with a one-month time limit," he said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta, on Thursday, August 3, 2023. 

Budi also explained that his ministry along with the Ministry of National Development Planning is initiating a loan from the World Bank to help resolve the traffic congestion issue in Bandung and other big cities in Indonesia. "We are planning to initiate a loan from the World Bank for Medan and Bandung. We also plan to take a loan from Germany to resolve the issue in Semarang and Surabaya," he said.

According to Budi, the meeting also presented the traffic congestion issue that happens across Indonesia recently. "The President calculated that Jakarta lost Rp60 trillion yearly from traffic congestion at his time as the Jakarta Governor.

Therefore, the minister said that improving the transportation sector could be the answer to resolving the traffic congestion issue. "We prioritize some big cities (for the transportation development project), namely Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Semarang, Surabaya, and Makassar," Budi added.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra

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