Southeast Asia’s First High-Speed Rail Project Three-Quarters Complete

What’s new: Indonesia’s first high-speed rail project, a 142-kilometer (88 miles) line being built by a Chinese-led consortium, is 73% complete and could start operation as soon as late next year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday.

During a visit to inspect the project, Widodo said he hoped Indonesia could acquire some of the China-developed technology being used to build the line for the construction of future lines in Southeast Asia’s most populous nation, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The line will connect the Indonesian capital of Jakarta with the city of Bandung, capital of West Java province.

Background: The Java-Bandung line is part of an ambitious plan by China to export its infrastructure-building expertise to other developing countries participating in its Belt and Road Initiative, a signature program of President Xi Jinping.

The Chinese consortium beat out a group from Japan in 2015 for the rights to build the project, which will become the first completed high speed rail line in Southeast Asia. The project’s latest price tag is $6 billion, up from a previous estimate of $5.5 billion.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

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