"The monorail will be stretch from the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport to the Jakabaring integrated sporting areas and will be 25 kilometers long. The construction should be started immediately to facilitate the transportation and mobilization of athletes, organizers, and guests from 40 participating Asian countries", South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said on Tuesday.
He explained that the construction of the monorail was important because the road congestion level in Palembang was increasing.
The government is expected to give priority to the construction of the monorail, discussions around which have been underway for a long time, the Governor said.
Earlier, the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Rini Soemarno, had said that the construction of light rail transit or a monorail was still awaiting approval through a Presidential Regulation.
The monorails construction in Palembang, which will host the Asian Games 2018, is the priority of the ministry and will be immediately started.
Monorail construction will help reduce traffic congestion due to the rapid growth of the number of vehicles in Palembang.
"South Sumatra will host the Asian Games together with Jakarta, so every proposed construction and development to support the event should be begin soon", said Soemarno.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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