Xi Jinping, Prince MBZ Invited to Trial Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train

TheIndonesia.id - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said several G20 heads of state would be invited to see the operational trial of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train at the peak of the G20 summit series, next November.

"In November during the G20, the trial of this fast train can be carried out from Plered to Tegalluar. President Jokowi and several heads of state, perhaps President Xi Jinping and maybe also with Mohammed bin Zayed from Abu Dhabi will also see the trial later," said Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan during his visit to the Jabodebek LRT Depot in Jatimulya, East Bekasi, Friday, April 1, 2022.

Coordinating Minister Luhut said a few days earlier he had reviewed the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project and saw that the project would run well. He admitted that there are no more problems related to development progress and funding.

However, the overrun cost of the project is currently being audited by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project itself experienced an increase in costs to US$1.9 billion or around Rp.26.7 trillion due to Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) and land acquisition. In addition to rising costs, the project was also forced to be delayed.

"The president yesterday gave directions, namely that the schedule should not be missed. The miss schedule on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train is a geological problem, there is a very large spring in the tunnel, so it may be delayed maybe 3-4 months. So we are just hoping that it will be completed in June next year. We will try it, maybe it will be faster, but the worst-case scenario is that, "said Coordinating Minister Luhut.

Although it had been delayed, he ensured that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train would start testing at the end of 2022 and be able to operate in June 2023. "There is nothing to worry about the schedule because I and the Minister of Transportation and the Deputy Minister of State-owned enterprises are closely monitoring the progress," said Coordinating Minister Luhut.