Delivering Indonesia’s first Light Rail Transit system

We are proud to have supervised the construction of Indonesia’s first Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, the Palembang LRT project in South Sumatera Province.

We are proud to have supervised the construction of Indonesia’s first Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, the Palembang LRT project in South Sumatera Province.

Palembang LRT connects Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport and Jakabaring Sport Centre, covering 23.4 km with 13 stations and a depot. As Palembang was to co-host the 2018 Asian Games with Jakarta, our teams worked tirelessly to ensure the LRT would be operational by June 2018, one month before the Games began. It was the first time Indonesia has hosted the event since 1962.

While the Palembang LRT began operating in mid-2018, the remaining works were completed and the project formally closed out in May 2019.

The project leveraged SMEC’s expertise in areas such as design review, identification of opportunities for cost savings and faster construction through value engineering. We also fast-tracked the design and construction of critical components of the project – such as the bridge over the Musi River, LRT stations and depot.

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.”

Adrian Chandra, Director PT SMEC Denka Indonesia, commented, “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.”