Indonesia, high -speed rail eyes to Surabaya, but Chinese debt barriers waved on the horizon

Indonesia They are the revival plans to expand the Chinese -backed rail network, with aspirations to connect Jakarta with Surabaya, the second largest city in the country. But analysts say familiar complications can stop the project, from organizational obstacles to the escalating debts due to China.

The proposed extension will build on it WhoOSH – The first high -speed railway in Southeast Asia – The $ 7.3 billion project links the capital, Jakarta, to Bandung in West Java Province. The 142 km (88 km) railways, which were largely funded by China, were suffering from delay and costs before it was installed by the former president Goku Widodo In October 2023.

He talked about the extension of the leading train in the east to Surabaya since before the start of the operations, which he greatly defended by Luhaut Penzar Pandian, and Widodo has long been installed and the Minister of Coordination for Maritime Affairs and Investment during his administration.

He has now held the position of head of the National Economic Council, a governmental advisory body, and Lohout confirmed again during a trip to Beijing on May 20-22 that the extension of the railways remained on the agenda-although he acknowledged that the Indonesian bureaucracy had stopped progressing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Leot Bensar Pandian (right), head of the Indonesian National Economic Council, meets in Beijing on May 20. Photo: Shenhua

“The problem is actually next to our side because we have not finished drafting the list yet. It is simply. But as soon as it is completed, we will start talking about a common study [with China]Lohout told the state -owned Andaria Agency in Indonesia.

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