Grand Hyatt to Kempinski to Be Connected via Underground Passage, Says Pramono

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has revealed that the hotel district around the Bundaran HI roundabout will be connected through an underground passage integrated with the MRT. The project will link the Grand Hyatt, Pullman, Mandarin Oriental, and Hotel Indonesia Kempinski. “Including this place, you probably cannot imagine that the Grand Hyatt, Pullman, Mandarin, and Kempinski will now be connected underground. It will later connect to the MRT,” Pramono said while speaking on stage at the 499th Jakarta Anniversary celebration at Bundaran HI, Central Jakarta, on Saturday (27/6). Pramono stated that the underground connectivity will allow pedestrians to avoid crossing at street level. He explained that the underground area will also be utilised as a space for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), similar to practices in other major cities worldwide. “Inside, there will also be many MSMEs, like in big cities around the world,” Pramono said. He also touched on how transportation improvements are continuously being made to reduce congestion in Jakarta. According to him, one of the causes of congestion is the high mobility of residents from buffer cities who enter and leave the capital daily. “One of the causes of traffic jams in Jakarta’s transportation is that approximately four million people come in every day. In the afternoon, roughly four million return to their respective homes. That is what Jakarta is now managing,” he explained. As an effort to reduce the use of private vehicles, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has introduced the Transjabodetabek service, connecting Jakarta with surrounding buffer cities. These Transjabodetabek routes include Blok M-Bogor, Blok M-Soekarno Hatta, and Blok M-Bekasi. “Why? So that residents from outside Jakarta can use Transjabodetabek,” Pramono said. He also touched on the Rp1 public transport fare policy implemented during the 499th Jakarta Anniversary celebrations. Due to high enthusiasm from residents outside Jakarta, the policy was expanded to all holders of Indonesian ID cards. “The problem was that during this event, we initially made it free for Jakarta residents. It turned out that residents from Bekasi, Bogor, Tangerang, Cianjur, and Depok also asked for the free fare. So today, we are making it free for all holders of Indonesian ID cards,” Pramono concluded.