Jakarta. The Jakarta administration is preparing plans to develop air transportation as part of efforts to transform the capital into a global city, although the government is currently prioritizing the expansion of sea transportation services.

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said the development of the transportation system was part of the city’s preparations to become a global city. He said the administration was currently focused on developing sea transportation, while plans for air transportation remained in the preparation stage.

“Our first priority is handling sea transportation, but we are preparing for air transportation,” Pramono told reporters after inspecting the TB Simatupang Waste Screening Facility in South Jakarta on Monday.

Jakarta is targeting a place among the world's top 50 global cities by 2029-2030 and aims to reach the top 20 by 2045 under its Jakarta RISE 20 initiative. The capital ranked 71st among 158 cities in the latest Global Cities Index.

The city has about 10.67 million residents, while the Greater Jakarta area is home to nearly 42 million people. The size of the metropolitan population and heavy daily commuter flows have placed growing pressure on the capital's transportation network.

Pramono said an additional capital injection for Transjakarta was also linked to plans to develop sea transportation services and prepare Jakarta to become a global city.

“First, the additional capital for Transjakarta is needed because Transjakarta will handle sea transportation. The additional capital is also being prepared to support Jakarta as a global city,” he said.

The Jakarta administration has proposed increasing Transjakarta's authorized capital from Rp5.225 trillion ($291 million) to Rp13.4 trillion, as the city seeks to expand its public transportation network. The plan includes expanding Transjakarta's operations to sea transportation services connecting Jakarta with the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), an archipelago off the capital's northern coast.

Transjakarta has seen rapid growth in ridership, reaching an average of about 1.4 million passengers a day in 2025. The system operates alongside other mass-transit services, including the Jakarta MRT, as the city seeks to reduce its reliance on private vehicles.

For air transportation, Pramono said Jakarta needed to develop a system that could support mobility in a global city. He cited New York, London, and Beijing as examples of major cities with established air transportation services.

“As part of developing Jakarta as a global city, matters related to air transportation, as currently implemented in New York, London, Beijing, and other major cities around the world, include arrangements for helicopters and so on,” Pramono said.

Pramono did not provide details on the type of air transportation service being considered or when it could be implemented.

Traffic congestion, high private-vehicle use, and air pollution remain major challenges for Jakarta as it seeks to build a more integrated transportation system.

He reiterated that sea transportation remains the administration’s immediate priority, while air transportation plans are still being prepared.

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