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Coronavirus outbreak affects Chinese investment projects in Indonesia
Earlier this month, the government imposed a temporary ban on all flights to and from China following the COVID-19 outbreak in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading to Indonesia.
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Workers arrange equipment in front of a large tunnel built for a high-speed railway in Tunnel 8, Padalarang, West Bandung regency, West Java, on February. 21, 2019. It is one of the major infrastructure projects which involve Chinese companies (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he novel coronavirus outbreak will not only disrupt supplies of raw materials for the manufacturing industry in Indonesia but will also cause a delay in important infrastructure projects, which involve many Chinese companies, a senior minister has predicted.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the infrastructure projects that were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak included the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, as many Chinese workers that worked in the projects could not return to Indonesia.
“They can’t return to Indonesia and are currently still being held up in their country after the Lunar New Year holiday,” he said during a press briefing in Jakarta.
Earlier this month, the government imposed a temporary ban on all flights to and from China following the COVID-19 outbreak in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading to Indonesia.
Luhut also expected the supply of raw materials to Indonesian industrial companies would also be disrupted as the Chinese government is still limiting economic activities in the country to prevent the virus from spreading.
However, he declined to comment on whether the hurdles could affect the project’s completion target.
“We still don’t want to speculate on [how long the delay will be], but this project could be delayed longer if the virus outbreak continues,” said Luhut, adding that the government would try to speed up the project to meet the deadline.
