The Golden Triangle of Jakarta (Indonesian: Segitiga Emas Jakarta), also referred to as the Medan Merdeka–Thamrin–Sudirman Axis (Indonesian: Poros Medan Merdeka–Thamrin–Sudirman) or the Sudirman–Thamrin–Kuningan Axis (Indonesian: Poros Sudirman–Thamrin–Kuningan), is a roughly triangular area in the center of Jakarta, Indonesia, extending from Central Jakarta to South Jakarta. Most of the city's tallest skyscrapers, office buildings and foreign embassies are located in the area. It is the main CBD of Jakarta.[1]
The area is bordered by Jalan M.H. Thamrin-Jalan Jenderal Sudirman (north-southwest), Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said (north-southeast), and Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto (east-west). There are many other roads bisecting the area. The Golden Triangle's commercial areas include SCBD (45 hectares), Mega Kuningan (54 hectares), Rasuna Epicentrum (53.6 hectares) and Kuningan Persada (17 hectares).[2] The Golden Triangle is one of the fastest-evolving CBDs in the Asia-Pacific region.[3]
Panoramic view of skyscrapers in the Golden Triangle of Jakarta
From 1960-1965, Jakarta's urban development changed drastically when President Sukarno, also an architect and an urban planner, redeveloped the city into a modern capital that would not only be the pride of the Indonesian nation but also be a "beacon" of a powerful new nation.[4][5] During the 1950s, the development axis of Jakarta was shifted southward from Medan Merdeka to Kebayoran as the center of Jakarta, replacing the axis of Medan Merdeka-Senen-Salemba-Jatinegara, which had grown since the 18th century.
Some of Sukarno's notable infrastructure projects during the first half of the 1960s were the construction of wide avenues, such as Jalan Thamrin, Jalan Sudirman, Jalan Gatot Subroto, and the Semanggi "clover-leaf" interchange. Jalan Rasuna Said was developed in the 1970s; together with Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Gatot Subroto, they formed the Golden Triangle. During the period, construction commenced north of the Semanggi Interchange on Jalan Sudirman.[6]
The term "the Golden Triangle" for the Jakarta CBD was popularized in the 1990s.[7] Three points of the triangle which form the area are:
The Golden Triangle area of Jakarta includes major roads such as Thamrin, Sudirman, Gatot Subroto, Rasuna Said, Mas Mansyur, and Satrio. Administratively, it is located in Menteng, Tanah Abang, Setiabudi, Kebayoran Baru, a small part of Tebet, Pancoran, and Mampang Prapatan sub-districts of Jakarta.
Many commercial centers have been gradually developed as clusters within the Golden Triangle area, such as the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, SCBD, and Mega Kuningan. Most of Jakarta's skyscrapers are located within this triangle.
SCBD is a mixed-development cluster of 45 hectares located at Jalan Jenderal Sudirman. The area has many commercial skyscrapers, shopping and entertainment centers. District 8, Pacific Place Jakarta, Indonesia Stock Exchange, The Energy, PCPD Tower, Sequis Center Tower, and Equity Tower are within the district. As of June 2017, the 2nd tallest building in Indonesia, Treasury Tower, is located in the district at present. Jakarta Signature Tower, also located in the district, is under construction and will be the tallest building in the city and the 5th tallest building in the world once completed.[8]
Rasuna Epicentrum is an area of 53.6 hectares (132 acres), consisting of residential, offices, hotels, hospitals, places of worship, sports, shopping, entertainment and education in one area.
A large green signage indicates the HOV 3+ (Three in One) implementation zone near the Bank Indonesia Roundabout. This traffic restriction scheme was replaced by the Odd–even rationing in 2016A large green signage indicates the Odd–even rationing implementation zone near the intersection between the M.H. Thamrin Street and the Wahid Hasyim Street.
As the main streets of the central business district, the streets have become the busiest area in Jakarta, with lots of heavy traffic. To reduce the gridlock in the Golden Triangle Area, since the 1990s, the Government of Jakarta began to implement the High-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) 3+ scheme (commonly known as three in one or 3 in 1) on the West Medan Merdeka, Sudirman, Thamrin, and Gatot Subroto Streets. The 3 in 1 scheme failed due to sluggers or "car jockeys". The 3 in 1 scheme was replaced by the Odd–even rationing scheme in 2016. Currently, odd–even rationing is implemented every Monday to Friday from 06:00-10:00 and 16:00-21:00 on West Medan Merdeka, Sudirman, Thamrin, Gatot Subroto and 22 other streets in Jakarta.[9]
To reduce air pollution as the major impact of the gridlock in the Golden Triangle area, In September 2007, the Government of Jakarta held the city's first Car-Free Day that closed the main avenue of the city from cars and invited local pedestrians to exercise and having their activities on the streets that were normally full of cars and traffic. Along the road from the Senayan traffic circle on Jalan Sudirman to the Selamat Datang Monument at the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout on Jalan Thamrin, all the way north to National Monument Central Jakarta, cars are cleared out for pedestrians. Since May 2012, Car-Free Day in Jakarta has been held every Sunday. It is held on the main avenues of the city, Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin, from the Senayan area to Monas (Monumen Nasional), from 6 AM to 11 AM.