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Indonesia taps China for study into high-speed rail extension to Surabaya
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The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train named 'Whoosh' is seen during the inauguration at Halim Station in Jakarta on Oct. 2, 2023. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he government will work with state-owned China Railway group to conduct a joint study on extending the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail (HSR) project to Surabaya, East Java, the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry has said.
China Railway is a major shareholder from the Chinese side in PT KCIC, a Sino-Indonesia consortium responsible for building the project and which holds a 40 percent share, with the rest owned by a consortium of Indonesian state-owned companies led by PT KAI.
During the construction, the company also acted as one of three major contractors for the Jakarta-Bandung HSR and has taken responsibility for operation and maintenance in the early years.
"When we visited China not too long ago, we signed [an agreement] to start the joint study with China Railway," Deputy SOEs Minister Kartika Wirjoatmodjo said on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.
However, up until now, there has been no concrete deal with the Chinese state-owned infrastructure firm about the investment needed for the extension, he said. This includes a new loan and interest rate agreed to finance the project.
Extending the HSR service, known as Whoosh, to Surabaya is urgently needed, according to experts. They argue that the relatively short distance of 142 kilometers poses a challenge for the project's profitability, as most HSR run over a 400-km distance.
Read also: Govt to finalize HSR loan negotiation with around 3.6 percent interest rate
