"During the G20 Summit agenda next November, the high-speed railway trial could proceed from Plered (Purwakarta district) to Tegalluar (Bandung district). President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and some heads of state, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, are expected to observe the trial," Pandjaitan informed during his visit to Jabodebek LRT depot in Jatimulya, Bekasi, on Friday.
The coordinating minister said that he had earlier visited the high-speed railway construction site adding, the project has proceeded well as no construction and funding issues have been reported.
The overrun cost of the railway project is currently being audited by the Finance and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP), he added.
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project's overrun cost has reached Rp26.7 trillion (US$1.9 billion) due to construction and land acquisition issues, and ensuing issues that have resulted in delays to the project, he explained.
"President Jokowi has instructed us to ensure that the project will not miss its schedule. Failure to follow the schedule during the project is due to a geological issue, which is a water spring that we found while digging a tunnel, that caused a 3–4 months’ delay," Pandjaitan said.
The minister further said that he expects the issue to be resolved by June next year at the latest and engineers are making efforts to resolve the issue sooner.
Despite the delays, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail trial could commence by the end of 2022, and the service is expected to become operational in June 2023, he said.
"We need not be concerned about the schedule because, besides me, the Transportation Minister (Budi Karya Sumadi) and Deputy Minister of State-owned Enterprises (Kartika Wirjoatmodjo) would monitor the construction progress," Pandjaitan added.
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Translator: Ade Irma Junida, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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