The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Rail Project Swells To Rp114 Trillion, Special Staff Erick Thohir Guarantees There Will Be No Corruption

Special Staff of the Ministry of SOEs, Arya Sinulingga with the Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil. (Photo: Instagram @arya.m.sinulingga)

JAKARTA - The Special Staff of the Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir, namely Arya Sinulingga, guarantees that there will be no corruption or fraud in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project, even though the need for funds for the project has swelled to hundreds of trillions.

"There is no potential for corruption, fraud, we will not accommodate that," said Arya to the media crew, Sunday, October 10 yesterday.

For information, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) or KAI stated that due to the swelling of investment funds in the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail project, which was originally planned to be US$ 6.07 billion or around Rp. 86.67 trillion (exchange rate of Rp. 8 billion US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 114.24 trillion.

Regarding the increased budget, Arya said that when building fast trains or strategic infrastructure facilities such as toll roads, the process will undergo design changes in the course of the process. This is due to geological and geographical conditions that are different and change from what was initially estimated.

"Almost all countries experience it, especially for the first time. So there must be design changes and this causes cost overruns. In addition, land prices also change over time, and this is normal in almost all developments that we do. there must be changes there. Thus, these two things have made the fast train budget increase," he said.

Arya also said that everywhere developed and modern countries needed a fast train.

"Everywhere there must be fast trains in modern countries, and Indonesia is heading towards a developed and modern country. When Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided to agree to build a fast train, it was towards Indonesia, which has indeed become a modern country," said Arya.