JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - President Joko Widodo in mid-morning on Thursday (Jan. 21) officially kicked off the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train (HST), the country’s first high speed train, after the government issued environment assessment study (AMDAL) on Wednesday (Jan. 20).
The groundbreaking ceremony was held in Cikalong Wetan, Bandung, West Java. The project is expected to absorb 39,000 of new jobs.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by representatives of the Chinese government and China Railway, Indonesia cabinet ministers, West Java governor Ahmad Heryawan and DKI Jakarta Governor Basuki Purnama (Ahok) as well as top executives of the state-owned companies that will take part in the development of the multi-billion dollar project.
The President officiated the groundbreaking of the project by pressing a sirene, which was responded by big applause from those attended the ceremony. He reiterated that the project will not be funded by the government from State Budget.
President Joko Widodo also said the development of the Jakarta-Bandung high speed train will improve the mobility of both people and goods. The project is also part of the government’s drive to develop mass rapid transportation means, therefore people will slowly shift to using public transportation means, instead of private cars.
The project, funded through Non-State Budget sources, will be developed by a consortium of Indonesian State Owned companies and China’s state owned company China Railway International Co. Ltd. The Indonesian SOEs, namely PT Wijaya Karta Tbk, PT Jasa Marga Tbk, PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII and PT Kereta Api Indonesia, have set up a joint venture company called PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI), led by Wijaya Karta.
The high-speed train will have a length of 142.3 kms, linking Halim in East Jakarta and Bandung. It will stop over in four stations, namely Halim, Karawang, Walini and Tegalluar in Bandung.
The project construction is expected to be completed in 2018 or early 2019.
Minister for Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya said Wednesday that the AMDAL document has been issued, clearing the last hurdle in the development of the high-speed train project. “The (AMDAL) permit has been given, while at the same time we will give one month opportunity to the public to give inputs related with the project,” she said.
Some observers however raised concerned as the issuance of the environmental assessment could be too hastily as the project is yet to be included in the spatial planning document (RTRW) in each region that will be affected by the project. However, the government seems to move ahead with the plan.