The SMEC team ensured it would be in time for the 2018 Asian Games hosted by Palembang and Jakarta
Palembang LRT cuts travel time between Jakabaring Sports Centre and airport by 30-40 minutes.
SMEC is proud to have supervised the construction of Indonesia’s first Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, the Palembang LRT project in South Sumatera Province. The LRT is one of Indonesia’s priority projects.
The project leveraged SMEC’s expertise as a leading global engineering and infrastructure advisory firm. It contributed to the project in areas including design review, identification of opportunities for cost savings and faster construction through value engineering. Palembang LRT connects Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport and Jakabaring Sport Centre, covering 23.4 km with 13 stations and a depot.
The LRT served athletes and spectators of the 2018 Asian Games, which Palembang co-hosted with Jakarta
Serving Asian Games with Jakarta
As Palembang was to co-host the 2018 Asian Games with Jakarta, the SMEC team worked tirelessly to ensure the LRT would be operational by June 2018, one month before the Games began. It was the first time Indonesia had hosted the event since 1962.
Palembang is the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra province. Located on the Musi River, it was also the capital of the ancient Srivijaya empire, the first to unify most of the Indonesian archipelago over 1300 years ago.
While the Palembang LRT began operating in mid-2018, the remaining works were completed and the project formally ended in May 2019.
Mitigating traffic woes of Palembang
Representatives of the Directorate General of Railways (DGR), Ministry of Transportation, wrote that “SMEC’s work has been of a high standard, well planned and implemented through the initial design work, assisting the client with administration procurement issues and then with construction management and supervision tasks.”
Mr Adrian Chandra, Director PT SMEC Denka Indonesia, said, “Traffic congestion is a daily headache for many Indonesians. We’re proud to have made a significant contribution towards a solution by delivering the Palembang LRT, which reduces travelling time between the airport and the sports centre by 30-40 minutes.”
According to Mr Chandra, a key consideration of the appointment of SMEC was SMEC’s broad global experience from other countries and previous project experiences related with railway and construction consultancy expertise.
The Indonesian government is building more LRTs, such as Jabodebek to connect Jakarta and its suburbs. It is also considering the construction of LRTs in other big cities in Indonesia such as in Bandung, Medan, and Surabaya.
