President Director of Jakarta’s mass rapid transit operator company PT MRT Jakarta, William Syahbandar, made the statement in his keynote address at a seminar on infrastructure cooperation between Japan and the ASEAN in Jakarta, Friday.
It was earlier planned to name the station after one of the Indonesian heroes, Sisingamangaraja, inspired by which the street underneath the elevated station was also named.
It was then changed to ASEAN in a bid to further instill the spirit of the bloc among members of the community and introduce it further, reaching beyond the buildings that stand in the borderline between Central and South Jakarta, Syahbandar expounded.
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He also highlighted the station’s architectural detailing that features designs emblematic of the ASEAN symbol.
He also invited the ASEAN Secretariat to hold events pertaining to the region to further broaden understanding among the public, adding that one had earlier been held to mark ASEAN Day in July.
“Please use this station as a venue for more ASEAN events. You can also raise awareness and introduce programs to the community. This is your station, this is our station,” he affirmed.
At the end of his address, Syahbandar stated that the MRT in Jakarta is testament to the successful collaborative initiative between Indonesia and Japan and that the area around ASEAN station will be further expanded into a Transit Oriented Development project.
“We invite the people, government, and private sector to imbibe the spirit of ASEAN into the development of TOD of the ASEAN station,” he stated.
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Reporter: Aria Cindyara
Editor: Sri Haryati
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