"I praise the North Sumatra provincial government and the Medan city government for their enthusiasm to develop mass transport system into future mass transport system. We discussed railway line,  Light Rail Transit (LRT), and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi discussed a plan for the development of mass transport system in Medan with North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi and Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution on Saturday.

"I praise the North Sumatra provincial government and the Medan city government for their enthusiasm to develop mass transport system into future mass transport system. We discussed railway line, Light Rail Transit (LRT), and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems," the minister said in a press statement released on Saturday.,”

To overcome traffic congestion in Medan and its environs, the government needs to build infrastructures for an integrated mass transport system, he said.

"Mr Mayor said roads (in Medan) are very congested on normal days. Therefore, we want to make a mass transport system the public's preference to travel from one place to another," he said.

He said the Transportation Ministry has developed a number of urban transportation infrastructures in Medan, including railway line linking Medan to Kualanamu Airport. The ministry is planning to develop railway tracks connecting Medan to Binjai and Belawan.

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He further said Medan will be one of the Indonesian cities where the government will build LRT system.

"We plan to develop LRT. The World Bank has chosen Medan to develop LRT besides Bandung. Of course, the LRT must be connected to the existing railway line," he said.

In addition, the ministry will also build government-subsidized BRT system using the concept of Buy The Service (BTS).

"We will intensively develop the mass transport system in North Sumatra. In not so distant future we will complete the construction of Amplas Terminal A in Medan and water bus terminal for water bus transportation to support Lake Toba tourist destination," he said.

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Translator: Adimas Raditya FP/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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