Jakartans all love to complain about how bad the capital is in terms of infrastructure (us included). The terrible traffic, inadequate and dangerous public transport, broken sidewalks etc etc. And when was the last time you heard anybody say, “Hey, look at all the great progress they’ve made on _____ in Jakarta?”
But there actually are infrastructure improvements going on around us, not the least of which is the huge Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system that the government has been working on for the last 2.5 years. But besides some of the taller construction platforms, most of the work on the MRT is taking place behind barriers or underground where we can’t see it. All we can see are the massive traffic jams its construction is causing on Jalan Sudirman.
But the above video, titled “This is How We Made the Dream…” shows what’s really up with the MRT, including the massive scale of the project and, through the magic of time-lapse photography, how much progress has actually been made.
It starts off a bit cheesy, with still photos, voiceovers and bombastic music trying to give the whole project an air of historical significance (which it has, since Jakarta is one of the last cities of its size in the world without an MRT or subway system). But after a shot of the construction workers stretching out before getting to work, it really kicks into high gear. Be sure to watch till the end to get a glimpse of the crazy giant boring machine used to dig the MRT’s underground sections.
While the first corridor of the MRT won’t be operational until at least mid-2018 (if then, officials are hoping to have it ready in time for the Asian Games), this video does give us hope that it actually will be completed soon. And, dare we say, it even inspires us to believe that there are other real changes taking place in Jakarta, you just need to know where to look.
