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Amid concerns of a Chinese debt trap, Indonesia’s first high-speed railway to finally open

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Elisa Valenta

Elisa Valenta

Published Mon, Sep 25, 2023 · 05:00 AM
    • Joko Widodo, Indonesia's president, at Tegalluar station ahead of an interview in front of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway trains in West Java, Indonesia, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Indonesia’s outgoing president said Southeast Asia’s largest economy can attain its fastest expansion in three decades under the next leader, who will build on the reforms he’s trying to cement. Photographer: Rosa Panggabean/Bloomberg
    • Joko Widodo, Indonesia's president, at Tegalluar station ahead of an interview in front of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway trains in West Java, Indonesia, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Indonesia’s outgoing president said Southeast Asia’s largest economy can attain its fastest expansion in three decades under the next leader, who will build on the reforms he’s trying to cement. Photographer: Rosa Panggabean/Bloomberg Bloomberg

    [JAKARTA] After enduring delays of more than four years, the first high-speed railway in South-east Asia – a 142 km project linking Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and Bandung, the capital of West Java province – will finally commence commercial operations on Oct 1.

    The Kereta Cepat Jakarta Bandung (KCJB), as it is called, is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. The made-in-China trains will reduce the commuting time between the two cities to around 40 minutes, from three hours by a regular train.

    Beijing regards the railway as an enduring symbol of the close relations between the two countries, with the KCJB a major part of China’s expanding footprint in the region.

    Asean BusinessAseanIndonesiahigh-speed railwayJoko Widodo

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