theo reuters, This high-speed railway is a flagship project of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s government, and is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative.
The 142 km long, high-speed railway linking the capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung was originally planned to be completed and put into commercial operation by 2019.
However, due to a number of problems including material procurement, site clearance and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project with a capital requirement of over USD 1.2 billion was delayed by 4 years.
The 142 km long high-speed railway connecting Jakarta to the city of Bandung was originally scheduled to be completed in 2019. Photo: Reuters
The joint venture of Indonesian and Chinese state-owned companies (KCIC) earlier this week suspended the free trial till September 1 to ensure safety.
KCIC was also expected to enter commercial operation on 1 October, but Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi confirmed on 11 August that “no time has been set”.
“President Joko Widodo asked not to rush to exploit” – said Minister Budi reuters – “This is the first high-speed train with advanced technology in Indonesia and ASEAN. So we have to be careful. The first priority is safety,” the president said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Widodo in July when Widodo was visiting Beijing that both countries should ensure the project adheres to high standards.
To complete the remainder of the project, the joint venture borrowed an additional $560 million from the China Development Bank. Due to rising costs, there are concerns that ticket prices will also be raised to recover capital from investors.
Minister Budi said that the train fare would be between Rs 250,000-300,000. This is a subsidized level, well below the estimated Rs 350,000 (without government intervention).
Nevertheless, this price is still more than double what commuters pay to travel between Jakarta and Bandung by regular train.
“We hope that with this subsidy, passengers will be willing to spend money to use the high-speed train service,” said Mr. Budi.
