Ambitious project: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (left) inspects a model of a high-speed train that will connect Jakarta to the country's fourth largest city, Bandung in West Java, along with China Railway Corp. president Sheng Guangzu (right) Chinese state councillor Wang Yong (second right) and Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng (third right) during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the railway in Cikalong Wetan, West Java, on Jan.21. (AP/Dita Alangkara)
The government has stated that Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) must meet nine requirements in the concession agreement in order to obtain a business permit for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, an official said.
"The government has given KCIC nine requirements to meet for obtaining the high-speed train project concession agreement," said Transportation Ministry's director general of railways Hermanto Dwiatmoko during a media conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The requirements of the agreement, he added, included accepting the non-extendable concession period of 50 years, effective from the signing of the concession agreement without involving state budget support. In addition, KCIC must accept being subject to Indonesian laws and regulations.
"After the concession period ends, the infrastructure must be delivered to the government in a clean and clear state, not as collateral to other parties, and in a safe operating condition," Hermanto said.
He stated that Indonesia would not cancel the agreement after a change in government. "The government does not guarantee any failures in KCIC's development and operation of the high-speed train project," he asserted.
The government, Hermanto said, would not permit another high-speed railway to be built within a 10-kilometer radius of KCIC's high-speed train stations. However, operating permits may be issued for another train using KCIC rails but subject to KCIC's approval.
KCIC has not met some of the requirements or presented documents, such as the design, a technical drawing, field data, technical specifications or environmental impact analysis. For this reason the ministry has not issued a business license, said Hermanto.
KCIC has only lodged technical documents of the construction for 5 kilometers, whereas the project will stretch 142 km from the Halim Station in Jakarta to Tegal Ular Station in Bandung, West Java.
"Technical documents that we received recently were for Km 95 to Km 100, where there will be three bridges and a 2.04 km tunnel. Of course, we will review more details of the technical documents for the bridges and tunnels, as the area is prone to earthquakes," Hermanto said. (ags)
