TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed train project will likely be removed from the national strategic projects (PSN) list. Head of Committee for the Acceleration of Priority Infrastructure Provision (KPPIP) Wahyu Utomo said on Wednesday, July 26, that the infrastructure project initially predicted to cooperate with China will not be continued due to several considerations.

Wahyu said the Transportation Ministry had proposed stopping the project. Yet this has not been relayed to other related ministries.

According to Wahyu, the government would hold a limited meeting to discuss stalled infrastructure projects included in the PSN list with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo next week.

The Jakarta-Surabaya bullet train project is one of the 58 strategic projects that are stalled or untouched. Those projects have not been started yet, although they are targeted to finish next year.

Wahyu explained that the train project may require a long time and high costs. “The cost is not small, and it isn't decided yet whether we want a fast train, a semi-fast train, or something like that,” he told Tempo in South Jakarta, Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

Additionally, Wahyu said many local trains have recently been restored, providing alternative transportation for the community.

On June 24, 2023, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said Indonesia would likely partner with China again for the Jakarta-Surabaya bullet train project since the cost would be cheaper.

Luhut said he would submit the preliminary study regarding the train project to President Jokowi. He was optimistic that the government would save a lot of money for this project because the country would no longer need to import the material thanks to downstream industry.

“This will create breakthroughs in this republic. We can follow China as they are far more advanced than us,” Luhut said.

ANDIKA DWI | RIANI SANUSI | MOH KHORY ALFARIZI | ANTARA | RADEN PUTRI

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