China-Built High-Speed Rail in Indonesia Gets Off to Bumpy Start
- Company is seeking a regulatory guarantee for the link
- Widodo promoting the rail line as a key infrastructure project
Scale models of Chinese-made bullet trains on exhibition at a shopping mall in Jakarta.
Photographer: Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A $5.5 billion Chinese-led railway line in Indonesia has hit early snags amid domestic opposition to the project touted by President Joko Widodo as a key plank of his infrastructure ambitions.
The president attended a groundbreaking ceremony last month for the high-speed line between Jakarta and Bandung. However, the company building the link hasn’t been granted a business permit or provided documents needed to be given the go-ahead, the Jakarta Post reported Jan. 26. Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno declined to comment on the permit situation on Monday.