W

ith China and Japan competing over the contract for the high-speed rail project connecting Jakarta and Bandung, the government says it will take the proposal that offers lower interest and higher use of local materials.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli said the government would opt for proposal that gives more benefit to the country.

'€œAs for the financial aspect, we will choose the proposal offering low interest. We will also use local materials in the project, so it will give some added value to the domestic industry,'€ Rizal told the press after after welcoming a Japanese delegation that included Hiroto Izumi, a special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his office on Wednesday.

He added the ministry would ensure a fair and transparent process in determining the winner of high-speed train project.

'€œI am sorry but I don'€™t care about '€˜backing'€™, because we want the best for Indonesians, not what'€™s more beneficial for those who back [the project],'€ he said.

Rizal, who is tasked with overseeing the Transportation Ministry, Tourism Ministry, Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, said the operation of the high-speed train should be immediately handed over to Indonesia to ensure the transfer of technology.

'€œWe will try our best to be as fair as possible. On Monday, I will also meet with the Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia,'€ the minister said.

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has previously said the government, not consultants, would have the final say regarding the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project. The decision would lie with a team headed by the office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, Jokowi said.

Jokowi hinted at his preference for China, which had expressed its readiness to develop the project together with Indonesia'€™s state-owned firms, but without using state funds.

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project '€œwill not use state funds'€ and the government hopes to see a '€œjoint operation between state-owned enterprises there'€, the President confirmed.

Both China and Japan currently have high-speed trains connecting their major cities and they would apply the same technology in Indonesia.

Unlike the Chinese proposal, the one made by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) includes a requirement for the government to provide funding guarantees for the project.

Later that day, Izumi also paid a visit to President Jokowi to offer additional terms in Japan'€™s high-speed train proposal.

It was Izumi'€™s second visit to Jokowi this year with the supposed goal of securing Japan'€™s proposal.

'€œAs we all know, we [Japan] are competing hard with China,'€ Izumi told reporters after the meeting at the Presidential Office. '€œI told the President that Japan wanted to help Indonesia in developing high-speed trains, which will be under Indonesia'€™s ownership and management and will benefit the Indonesian people.'€

Other than the high-speed train, Japan also considered maritime cooperation to develop Indonesia'€™s Eastern region during Wednesday'€™s meeting, according to Izumi.

In July, Izumi visited Jokowi to convey Abe'€™s message that reaffirmed Japan'€™s commitment to participate in developing infrastructure in Indonesia. At the same time, Japan also said it would be particularly interested in being involved in the construction of power plants.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has completed an initial phase of study for the project and has estimated that around US$6 billion in investment will be needed to construct the railway.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution confirmed that Japan'€™s delegation offered several new terms in their proposal.

Darmin said that the Japanese delegation offered additional terms, including lower viability gap funding for the government.

'€œIn terms of timeline, they said they were able to deliver it more quickly,'€ Darmin added.