Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway Project on Hold?

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The Deputy of Indonesian House of Representatives Fahri Hamzah urges the government to postpone the construction of Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway project as he claims that the ministry of transport has not yet issued any confirmation letter permitting the undertaking of such venture and he relies on the fact that from Jakarta to Bandung and vice versa can be reached through available highways or toll roads.

“If we are not that ready nor prepared for such serious venture, then I think it is best to put the development on hold. Yes, it is acceptable to make necessary progression in terms of the nation’s infrastructure but I hope that it does not lead to a controversial one,” Fahri Hamzah said on the sidelines of ‘Stop Jakarta- Bandung high speed railay construction’ discussion at the House of Representatives building (DPR), Tuesday (2/2/2016).

Fahri went to remind ho Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s primary agenda is to make the archipelago state a powerful maritime fulcrum ad therefore its ambition must remain on that note. Additionally, Fahri believes that infrastructure projects should have been concentrated more on secluded and neglected regions where electricity is still lacking and economically and socially still under-developed.

“We have to remind ourselves of our President Jokowi’s maritime ambition, especially in provinces within Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua regions. Eastern part of Indonesia ought to be the focus for development,” he explained.

An economic and political expert from the Indonesian Economic and Politics Association Salamuddin Daeng was also one among those who severely criticized the construction of Jakarta- Bandung High- Speed railway. He firmly believes that such development would only hamper the improvement of people’s welfare, especially ones residing in Jakarta area.

“Government should have reconsidered having a fast train railway. Why do we need to have a high speed railway especially with its investment relatively expensive. People then have to pay for it and carry the burden,” he explained to Liputan6.com, Jakarta on Friday 29 January 2016.

According to him, the investment is valued up to US$ 5,5 billion and due to such relatively high price, it has been informed that the high speed railway management will increase the price of the passenger ticket.

People will initially be charged Rp 200 thousand for one way ticket in the first year of the high speed railway operation. The price will be increased to Rp 400 thousand in the following year.

“Price hike is inevitable in this particular circumstance as they need to cover the investment price that is relatively expensive in the very first place. Surely they will take into account Internal Rate of Return (IRR) from the initially invested US$ 5,5 billion. It is very likely that consumers are the ones given the burden of covering those expenses made by the government,” he further explained.