Announcement put off on Indonesia high-speed rail
INDONESIA'S government |has decided to put off for a few days announcing whether a Chinese or a Japanese com|pany will be getting a highly sought-after high-speed-rail contract.
An announcement that had been expected this week has been put off until at least Monday. A reason for the delay has not been given.
Jiang Yuechun with the China Institute of International studies said the Chinese bid had a clear advantage.
“In terms of cost-effectiveness, China enjoys a unique advantage among the world’s major high-speed-railway powerhouses.
“In addition, China has a clear advantage in such areas as project duration, maintenance and government support. But above all, cost is a key advantage for China.”
The line will run 160 kilometres between Jakarta and the textile-producing hub of Bandung.
Recent reports have been suggesting that Indonesia’s cabinet, which has the final say, has been leaning towards the Chinese bid, as it would see the line completed by 2019, as opposed to 2021 in the Japanese bid.
