China's Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail Project Gets IDR 4.3 Trillion Of PMN

JAKARTA - The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train (KCJB) construction project after obtaining approval from the government related to State Capital Participation (PMN) of IDR 4.3 trillion and funding commitments from the China Development Bank (CBD).

President Director of PT KCIC, Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi, said the PMN was given to PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) as the leading or leader of the SOE consortium or PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI).

"The entry of government investment through state capital participation (PMN) to PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) as the leading consortium will accelerate project work after a delay due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic", he said in a written statement, quoted on Tuesday, November 2.

In detail, Slamet said, KCJB's financing structure is 75 percent of the project value financed by the China Development Bank (CDB) and 25 percent financed from consortium equity. Of the 25 percent equity, 60 percent comes from the Indonesian consortium because it is the majority shareholder.

"So the funding from the Indonesian consortium is around 15 percent of the project. While the remaining 85 percent is financed from Chinese equity and loans, without any guarantee from the Indonesian government", he said.

As is known, the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train is included in the National Strategic Project (PSN) which was built through the cooperation of Indonesia and China. The work on this project uses high technology so that it can be a good leap for Indonesia.

Moreover, the two countries, namely Indonesia and China, have also transferred knowledge so that workers in Indonesia have the opportunity to improve their competence.

"The progress of the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project has now reached more than 79 percent", he said.

Even now, Slamet said, the series of trains or Electric Multiple Units (EMU) for the project have entered the production stage at the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Sifang factory in Qingdao, China, with an ISO 9001 international standardized quality management system.

Just for comparison, a similar project was also built in India by a consortium of Japanese companies. However, the construction of the 508-kilometer high-speed train stalled. Reported by Indian Express, the high-speed train traffic jam was due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the work on the project was delayed from the initial 2023 plan to 2028.