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Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway pushed back to 2023
This is the latest in a series of delays to a project that was initially meant to be completed by the end of 2018.
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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.
Jokowi expressed the hope that, once finished, the railway will ease traffic and increase mobility for people and freight in the area.
PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the consortium running the project, said on Monday it had anticipated the delay as an unforeseen event that had also been included in the cost overrun calculation.
“We have included it. So, we hope there will be no more change to the cost overrun,” KCIC president director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi said, as quoted by Tempo, adding that it would not affect the proposed fare previously estimated at around Rp 250,000 to Rp 350,000.
Read also: Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train gets bigger govt backing after cost overrun
The consortium added that it had been working on options to finance the cost overrun but had yet to decide as the process involved the government in negotiation.
The government has asked the management to cut costs as best as it can so that the cost overrun can be kept to a minimum.
“It's like Pak Luhut [Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan] said: The dry towels can be squeezed again. That is Pak Luhut's message to us, so that the cost overrun can be reduced as much as possible,” Dwiyana said.
