Statement of President of the Republic of Indoneisa during Inspection to Tunnel #1 of the Jakarta – Bandung High-Speed Train, 18 May 2021, at Jaticempaka Sub-district, Pondokgede District, Bekasi City, West Java Province

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

This afternoon, I inspect the construction progress of the Jakarta – Bandung High-Speed Train together with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Minister of Finance, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, and also accompanied by the Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia.

To date, the construction progress has reached 73 percent and by early next year, it will enter the preparation stage for operation. It is projected that by the end of 2022, the Jakarta – Bandung High-Speed Train can conduct a trial stage and will start operating soon after.

I hope that this high-speed train can later be integrated with the LRT (Light Rail Transit) and the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) in capital Jakarta, so that there is an efficiency of time and speed. We hope this will boost our country’s competitiveness so we can compete with other countries.

We hope that the construction of this high-speed train will create a transfer of technology. Hopefully, our human capital will be able to take advantage from the construction of the Jakarta – Bandung High-Speed Train. It is our hope that later, once the decision is made to extend the project to East Java provincial capital Surabaya, our human capital will be ready to lead the project using experiences they obtained from Jakarta – Bandung project.

That concludes my remarks on this auspicious opportunity. And I’m currently in the high-speed train tunnel at Halim.

I thank you.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. (EST/MUR)