Despite the groundbreaking ceremony held eight days ago, the Jakarta - Bandung high-speed train construction cannot proceed because the developer has not submitted the required documents.

Meanwhile, the government will not provide a guarantee if the project stalls in the middle of construction, a minister has warned.

Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said as quoted by kompas.com that according to the project agreement, the government will not use state funds to guarantee the project estimated to cost US$5.5 billion.

"There is no allocation from the state budget in the deal, including government guarantees," Bambang said.

Bambang added that PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the developer of the project, had never lodged a guarantee request with the government.

The government launched the joint project with China to build the high-speed rail service, linking Jakarta to Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, on Jan. 21. The construction, however, cannot proceed because KCIC has not submitted the required documents and, therefore, the Transportation Ministry has not issued the building permit and concession agreement.

Transportation Ministry director general of railways said to get the concession agreement, KCIC should get railway operation business permits, which so far have not been issued.

In addition, there are documents that still need further discussion, including the proposed investment value of the project.

Meanwhile, President Joko "Jokowi Widodo has promised to explain the details of the high-speed rail project next week, while the government is preparing to publish the relevant materials. "All will be presented in detail and itemized, from the beginning to the end of the process, including the costs," Jokowi said. (ami/bbn)

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