Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan made assurance that work on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train would be completed and it would become operational in mid-2023.
Pandjaitan noted that the dynamic test would be conducted to coincide with the holding of the Indonesian G20 Presidency in mid-November.
“Later, on 16th (November), there will be a dynamic test. From Bali, there will be a dynamic test, and from June to July next year, we will have commissioning,” he said when met in Jakarta, Friday.
Pandjaitan said that the cost overrun has been resolved while adding that the costs burgeoned due to technical issues, namely soil damage.
“Our cost overrun has been completed. Actually, a lot of cost overrun is due to land damage. It is shaking. I think three tunnels have been disturbed, but I think (the work on) it is finished now,” he explained.
He also expressed optimism that the schedule would be completed, and the operation of the mass transportation project will not be delayed any longer.
“Yes, we will see everything,” he remarked.
Regarding the plan for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train that will continue to Surabaya, East Java, the minister assessed that it will support Indonesia’s efficiency, as the fast train from Jakarta to Surabaya will be able to complete the journey in just four hours.
However, he does not explain in detail which investors will work on the project. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project is being worked on by China.
“If later, the government will continue this, when it reaches Surabaya, I think it will make Indonesia more efficient. Well, we will see, if we are comfortable with this (investors of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train),” he noted.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had earlier expressed optimism that the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway would be integrated with other transportation modes to be part of international connectivity among ASEAN countries.
“This is the first high-speed railway in the (Southeast Asian) region and ASEAN. We expect (that) the railway will be part of international connectivity either by integrating it with seaports or airports,” the president stated while observing the high-speed railway project at Tegalluar Railway Station in Bandung District, West Java, Thursday.
The head of state noted that as of Wednesday (October 12), work on the project was 88.8-percent complete and is expected to become functional by June 2023.
The high-speed railway is expected to boost the mobility of residents and goods, bolster economic competitiveness, and have a multiplier effect in regions along the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway route.
“There would also be new economic growth points in Jakarta, Bandung, and the Bandung District,” he noted.
The president remarked that the earlier issue of land contour hindering the construction of tunnel numbers 2 and 11 in the project had been addressed.
“The soil condition is very delicate, and Praise be to God, the issue has now been addressed,” Jokowi remarked.
Source: Antara News