Indonesia to recalculate high-speed railway investment

 

The government needs to recalculate the investment in light of a possible cost overrun caused by several technical issues related to old infrastructure and earthquake-damaged structures, said Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan.

“There is a Dutch colonial bridge on the tracks that has shifted due to seismic movements. China does not have experience in the matter,” he said at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

(Read also: High-speed railway financier wants clarity on spatial plan)

Previously, State-owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno denied on Tuesday that the China Development Bank (CDB) is withholding the disbursement of agreed-upon loans for the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway until all of the project's land has been acquired.

The CDB is expected to cover about 75 percent of the US$5.2 billion of the investment needed to complete the project. (bbn)

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High-speed railway financier wants clarity on spatial plan 

The Jakarta Post
Asia News Network
Jakarta

State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Rini Soemarno denied on Tuesday that the China Development Bank (CDB) is withholding the disbursement of agreed-upon loans for the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway until the project's land acquisition process is fully completed.

“The [land acquisition] is pending the completion of the regional spatial plan that needs to be signed by the President. If not, it cannot be completed because the spatial plan is what ensures that the location cannot be changed,” she told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta.

CDB is expected to cover around 75 percent of the US$5.2 billion worth of investment needed to complete the project.

Rini claims that while the finalization of the spatial plan is ongoing, the CDB is still committed to increasing its capital for the project.

“So far they have already put in Rp 500 billion [$37.5 million] but in essence, they need to funnel Rp 2 trillion [in capital]. However, they are still waiting for the regional spatial plan, and if that’s done then there is no problem,” she said.

Rini added that the much-awaited spatial plan would be in the form of a government regulation (PP), which she claimed had been already signed by related ministers and submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat.