Indonesia woos Japan as China-led high-speed-rail project stallsTokyo lost to Beijing in bidding, but construction delay creates new opening
KOYA JIBIKI, Nikkei staff writer
June 8, 2020 03:27 JST
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Indonesia-woos-Japan-as-China-led-high-speed-rail-project-stallsJAKARTA -- The Indonesian government has begun discussions on possible Japanese participation in a planned high-speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung, hoping to spur progress on the delayed Chinese-led project as costs mount.
The new proposal would combine that rail link -- which Japan lost out on in 2015 -- with a Japanese-Indonesian project upgrading an existing 750 km connection between Jakarta and Surabaya.
Discussions have begun on extending the high-speed Jakarta-Bandung railway to Surabaya and whether it would be possible to include Japan in the consortium, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told an online news conference Thursday.
Japan is an important partner in Indonesia's infrastructure development, and cooperation will help further connect Indonesian cities and promote faster economic growth, she said.
Many in the Indonesian government have argued that a single railway running through Bandung to Surabaya would be more efficient than separate routes going east and southeast from the capital. Cost overruns on the Bandung project have given a boost to this view.
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"To be more economical, President Jokowi has instructed that the project not stop at Bandung but be extended to Surabaya" and also asked to add Japan to the consortium, Airlangga said after the meeting, as reported by The Jakarta Post.
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