The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is a 142-km rail line linking Indonesia's capital Jakarta to Bandung, a tourist destination. Thanks to a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, once the project is completed the travel time between the two hubs will be cut to 40 minutes.
This is the first overseas project to be built with Chinese high-speed rail technology, with design considerations given to local climate and conditions, and the traditions and habits of local residents. The first high-speed rail project in Indonesia and all of Southeast Asia, it is expected to greatly boost local economic and social development.
An agreement was reached on October 16, 2015 between China Railway International Co., Ltd and four Indonesian state-owned enterprises to establish a Chinese-Indonesian consortium tasked to construct and operate the line. The project represents an innovative approach to international cooperation, with businesses from both countries involved under the sponsorship of the two governments.
A ground-breaking ceremony was held on January 21, 2016. By January 2019, a working mechanism was in place to boost the project, with progress in project permit, fund-raising, land requisition and demolition, and breakthroughs in 22 key projects.
The rail link is expected to stimulate growth in such sectors as metallurgy, manufacturing, infrastructure, power generation and logistics, create jobs, and promote structural transformation in Indonesia. It will, in particular, facilitate travel and promote tourism along the rail line, supporting a high-speed rail economic corridor and a twin-city cluster. It will also provide a sound basis for further cooperation between China and Indonesia in such fields as infrastructure development and trade.
