... we are unsure if the head of state will arrive at a decision on it right away ..."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The recommendations for the high-speed train project, which Japan and China are vying to develop, have been prepared and ready to be reported to President Joko Widodo, according to Economic Minister Darmin Nasution.
"We have completed the recommendations and will be reported to the president on Thursday," the minister stated after a coordination meeting to discuss the continuation of the high-speed train project here.
He remarked that the recommendations were prepared following a report submitted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) regarding some aspects on the assessment of the infrastructure project.
The economic minister shed light on four factors concerning the assessment of the fast-train project: the commitment and the risk to be borne by the government; technological aspects; socioeconomic impacts; and the project plan itself.
The four assessment factors will be taken into consideration while deciding which investor will work on the project, he claimed.
Nasution explained that the assessment conducted by the BCG revealed that Japan was at an advantage in terms of high-speed train technology, while China has an edge in terms of socioeconomic impacts.
He noted that the evaluation of the differences in the project proposals submitted by Japan and China will be reported to the president before a decision is taken regarding the construction of a high-speed train link connecting Jakarta and Bandung.
"We will report it to the president, but we are unsure if the head of state will arrive at a decision on it right away or will wait until one or two days," Nasution stated.
The Indonesian high-speed train project, which is believed to be similar to the Shinkansen trains operating in Japan at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour, will serve the Jakarta-Bandung route.
However, Japans feasibility study document contains a discourse that the high-speed train will also connect Jakarta and Cirebon as well as Surabaya, East Java.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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