Indonesia invites Japanese companies to cooperate on rail link extension

• 27 July 2020
• Construction Focus
• 2083 Views

With China and Japan bitter rivals for the controversial Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail link and China emerging victorious with the US$6 billion contracts, the government of Indonesia is now welcoming Japanese companies to bid on an extension of the route from Bandung to Surabaya.

Indonesian Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto made the integrated rail link extension announcement during an online press conference on Friday 29 May.

“To be more economically viable, the Jakarta-Bandung railway project should not only end in Bandung, but continue to Surabaya,” he said.

President Widodo has also reportedly proposed inviting a consortium of Japanese investors to join the Indonesia–China consortium constructing the Bandung link.

The proposed rail link cooperation is part of an overall review of 89 infrastructure projects planned until 2023 and worth about US$100 billion, which is being undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After winning the 142km Bandung link in 2015, China’s work on the line has been delayed by up to one year as a result of travel restrictions imposed on key engineering staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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