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Indonesia pushes for steam on key projects with Japan
Indonesia is revving for progress on several flagship infrastructure projects in cooperation with Japan, all in various stages of negotiation or development.
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Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (right) inspects the LRT Palembang project in May 2018. (Courtesy of Transportation Ministry/-)
I
ndonesia is pushing for faster progress on flagship infrastructure projects on which it is cooperating with Japan, but various issues have yet to be settled, not least on pricing.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi met with top officials in Japan last week to discuss several projects, including the second phase of MRT Jakarta, the Makassar-Parepare railway, Patimban seaport and a vehicle testing facility (BPLJSKB) in Bekasi, West Java.
Minister Budi, accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Heri Akhmadi and House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Rahmat Gobel, met with Japan’s Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Akaba Kazuyoshi, Foreign Affairs Minister Uto Takashi and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Governor Tadashi Maeda, as well as other stakeholders.
During his visit, Budi asked the Japanese government to adjust its bid price for the Jakarta MRT Phase 2 project, saying that the developer’s proposed price was “too high”.
“We hope [progress on] these projects will continue to accelerate and run according to plan,” Budi said in a virtual press conference on Sept 7, without naming the developer.
The Japanese Embassy in Indonesia said Tokyo was working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to help operator PT MRT Jakarta and other negotiating companies reach an agreement on the completion date and close in on agreeable prices.
“Japan is fully committed to the MRT project,” the embassy told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. Separately, JICA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.
