TEGALLUAR, (Indonesia): A high-speed railway project in Indonesia, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is on track for a 2023 launch despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries about the project being over-budget, officials said on Thursday.
President Joko Widodo inspected a new train station, where the consortium building the railway, PT KCIC, displayed a stationary China-made bullet train on the tracks. The 142-km line will connect the capital Jakarta with one of the country’s largest cities, Bandung.
“This will be the first high-speed rail in ASEAN and we hope this will increase connectivity between countries, whether this (the railway) will be connected further to an airport or other high-speed railways,” he said, referring to the Association of South East Asian Nations.
Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, said the project was 88.8% complete and its commercial launch is expected in June, 2023.
KCIC has said the project is facing a cost overrun of about $2 billion, raising the estimated total cost to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.36 billion). China estimates the project is less than $1 billion over budget, according to Koran Tempo newspaper.
KCIC’s President Director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi confirmed the discrepancy in cost calculations, saying negotiations are underway to resolve it.
“We hope the negotiations...regarding cost overrun and financing can be quick so this does not disturb the progress,” said Dwiyana, who accompanied Jokowi on Thursday.
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