Severe Congestion in Cakung-Cilincing Prompts DKI Jakarta Transport Agency to Urge Pelindo Depot Capacity Increase
The Head of the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub), Budi Awaluddin, has revealed that the severe traffic congestion in the Cakung-Cilincing area of East Jakarta is being triggered by a pile-up of shipping containers at the port. This is due to high import volumes that are not balanced with export activity. The condition has caused long queues of container trucks because the depot capacity has exceeded its limit.
Budi explained that the accumulation is occurring both at the port and in the depots. In response, his agency is pushing for an increase in operational capacity. “We hope that Pelindo’s depot capacity can be increased from 65 percent to 75 or 80 percent so that there is no more accumulation of containers at the depot,” Budi said while inspecting the location on Wednesday (22/7) evening.
To ease the congestion, the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency implemented traffic engineering from Wednesday evening at 19:00 WIB by closing a number of U-turns along Jalan Raya Bekasi to Jalan Raya Cakung-Cilincing. As a result, vehicle flow began to move smoothly and traffic conditions in both directions gradually returned to normal by 19:30 WIB.
To ensure smooth traffic is maintained, the traffic engineering will be continued the following day starting at 15:00 WIB. The U-turn closures will be focused on the Cakung, Babek, and Jakarta Garden City (JGC) areas under the supervision of personnel from the East Jakarta and North Jakarta Transportation Sub-agencies.
In addition to traffic engineering, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo has ordered that the Tanah Merdeka Terminal be used as a buffer zone for empty container trucks. This measure is intended to prevent trucks from parking on the road shoulder, which is a major source of the congestion. “There should be no more parking on the roads. That is what causes the extraordinary congestion. So we are using Tanah Merdeka Terminal as a buffer zone,” Pramono Anung Wibowo stressed. Field officers are now directed to guide truck drivers to the terminal when queues for the container depots occur.