Jakarta Tax Office Fire Disrupts AI Traffic Light System, Manual Control Deployed

A fire at the Jakarta Regional Revenue Agency (Bapenda) building on Friday has disrupted the capital’s traffic management system, though the city’s tax operations remain unaffected. Governor Pramono Anung stated that the blaze, which is believed to have started on the 11th floor, spread to the 16th floor, damaging the Jakarta Transportation Agency’s Command Centre and the Traffic Control System operational room. The artificial intelligence technology used to automatically regulate traffic lights across Jakarta is temporarily inoperable, meaning traffic signals at intersections will be manually controlled for the foreseeable future. Pramono has instructed the Transportation Agency to deploy personnel at junctions prone to congestion to mitigate the impact. He assured the public that the city’s tax system is fully digitised and has not suffered any significant disruption. Approximately 1,000 civil servants based in the affected building on Jalan Abdul Muis, Central Jakarta, will be temporarily assigned to sub-department offices or a planned alternative site in Cikini, with work-from-home arrangements in place to ensure continuity of services.