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Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway pushed back to 2023
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A worker walks inside Tunnel 1 of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project in Pondok Gede, Bekasi, West Java, in December 2020. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he government expects the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project to face another setback as a result of geographical and geological obstacles hampering its construction.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Monday that the railway would enter operation by the end of June 2023, half a year later than the previous target of December this year.
This is the latest in a series of delays to a project that was initially meant to be completed by the end of 2018.
“As per this date, the whole Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway has reached 79.9 percent of completion. We expect testing [to begin] by the end of 2022 and operations by [the end of] June 2023,” Jokowi said during his visit to the site.
Read also: Govt to pour Rp 4.3T into Jakarta-Bandung railway project
The delay also adds to the cost overrun on the project, which will weigh on the state budget, since Presidential Regulation No. 93/2021 issued last year allows the government to finance the project or provide guarantees for more loans.
In September last year, the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry estimated that the project had overrun its budget by Rp 27.17 trillion (US$1.9 billion) to Rp 113.9 trillion as a result of land-acquisition problems, overoptimistic planning and poor project management.
