Indonesia is set to launch Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway on Monday, a delayed multibillion-dollar project backed by China that will shave hours off travel between the capital, Jakarta, and another major city.
The Chinese-made bullet train called “Whoosh” is built to transport more than 600 people to and from Jakarta and the Java city of Bandung in 45 minutes and is part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
President Joko Widodo has praised the project for the fast travel it will provide between the two cities on Indonesia’s most populous island, Java, and will inaugurate it on Monday, according to local media reports, citing officials.
“We will launch it on October 2, because on October 1 the president is busy,” Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters on Friday.
The train can reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour (220 miles per hour) and has cost a Chinese-Indonesian joint venture more than $7 billion to build.
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It was built by PT KCIC, which is made up of four Indonesian state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. of Beijing.
It was planned to cost less than $5 billion and be built in 2019, but delays due to construction issues and the Covid-19 pandemic caused costs to rise.
Officials have been conducting public testing of the new 90-mile (142-kilometer) high-speed ride ahead of its opening.
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang traveled by train with Indonesian Minister Luhut Pandjaitan this month as he visited Jakarta for a series of summits with Southeast Asian leaders.
Pandjaitan told reporters on Thursday that Widodo plans to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in the future to travel by train, without providing further details.
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