TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi met with his Chinese counterpart Li Xiaopeng in Beijing, China, on January 12, 2024. They discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the transportation sector.

Budi said the two countries have a strong commitment to further strengthen cooperation in the development of national transportation infrastructure.

“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, Whoosh, is a form of commitment to bilateral cooperation, that is now in operation and has received high enthusiasm from the public,” Budi said in an official statement on Sunday, January 14.

He also reported that Indonesia and China are exploring the development of an autonomous train or Automated Rail Transit (ART) in Indonesia's new capital Nusantara or IKN.

The Indonesian government has been in talks with China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) to use a set of its autonomous trains for IKN. “A train set consists of three carriages with a capacity of 307 passengers, an operating speed of 40 km/hour, and a top speed of 70 km/hour,” Budi explained.

CRRC was expected to introduce the autonomous train to Indonesia, which will be exhibited at IKN in July 2024.

Budi also invited China to invest in the aviation sector, particularly to meet the needs of flight services in areas with fairly short runways, and in the shipping sector in a bid to improve human resources through education and training programs.

During his visit, Budi also extended an invitation to his Chinese counterpart to attend the Ministerial Roundtable on Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Asia Pacific to be held in Jakarta in May 2024.

ADINDA JASMINE PRASETYO

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