A BIG SUCCESS of China's Biggest BRI Project In Indonesia

[Music] one month before its limited operation Indonesia moved a step closer to becoming the first Southeast Asian country with a functional high-speed Railway after it completed a successful test run for its first high-speed train linking its capital of Jakarta to the city of bondum one of Jabba's major cities the trial run which first took place last week of May this year was the first of several runs each with an increased speed for the train that will eventually top out at 385 kilometers per hour in a few weeks time however this first run was done at 180 kilometers per hour already slashed the typical 2.5 hour car commute between cities by more than half completing the trip within just an hour the high-speed Railway line is a landmark and Flagship project of President Joko Widodo under the china-proposed belt and Road initiative connecting Indonesia's Capital Jakarta and another major city of Bondo with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to around 40 minutes a smooth opening of the Railway line the most high profile of China's belt and Road initiative project in Indonesia Southeast Asia's largest economy as part of Independence Day celebrations in August this year the railway plans to begin a free trial with passengers in mid-august with paid trips expected in the near future and the incomplete station will likely be finished by November this year the delivery of all trains for Indonesia's Jakarta Bond on high-speed Railway has been completed with the loading of the last three sets of bullet trains at qingdao Port in East China for shipment to Indonesia the first batch of delivery was shipped on August 2022 Jakarta Bandung HSR is driven by electricity and has no direct carbon emissions during transportation it is fast has a big capacity and is more energy efficient compared with Road and Air transport therefore it is the best and most environment-friendly traveling mode when fully functional Indonesia will be able to boast one of the fastest rail systems on the planet and certainly the fastest in the southeast Asia region although it still won't be able to top the speeds of the fastest trains in the world including China's Shanghai maglev running over 460 kilometers per hour France tgv with a top speed of 575 kilometers per hour and Japan's upcoming shuo shinkansen with commercial operation of 603 kilometers per hour the high-speed emu were developed with the advanced and mature technology of the Chinese standard flexing emu at 350 kilometers per hour and adapted to the local operating environment in a tropical and humid country like the rest of Southeast Asia according to China Railway the Emu for the Jakarta Bandung HSR is designed to be capable of carrying 601 passengers with one first-class car one dining car and six second-class cars the Emu used on the Jakarta Bond on HSR adopts intelligent sensing technology and is equipped with earthquake monitoring and early warning systems through more than 2 500 detection points located along the whole train all Key Systems can be monitored and assessed in real time the Emu also adopts a high standard corrosion resistant design an advanced protection technology making it more resistant to salt spray and ultraviolet radiation including a fire monitoring system an AC DC insulation monitoring system a braking system and an anti-vibration system the train can achieve a safe start on a slope of 30 degrees it also adopts a technology that can regenerate energy from the braking system which is less carbon intensive and more energy efficient smart technology makes fire and smoke monitoring systems smarter the fire detector is self-learning and can continuously upgrade itself during operation to make the alarm information more accurate test runs are now underway for the long-awaited high-speed rail line which means the project is nearing completion but it hasn't been an easy road construction of the 142 kilometer line which was awarded to a Consortium of Chinese companies in 2015 has gone cost overrun budget and has been delayed by several years according to Reuters the entire undertaking will cost over 7 billion including an additional 1.2 billion dollars to cover cost overruns months before its proposed commercial launch in August the showpiece project is beset by fresh problems with the Consortium of Chinese participants wanting a full operational wordiness certificate for the line despite an incomplete station still as of early July construction workers at all four stations are racing against time to finish the sites instead the transport Ministry and Consultants Matt McDonald from PWC and local Law Firm Umbra have suggested that full-fledged commercial operations could start in January 2024 based on the progress update report dated May 14 2023 Financial restructuring of an Indonesian state-owned construction firm with an indirect minority stake in the Consortium is also hitting the working capital needs of the project which has already accumulated at least 381.7 million dollars in outstanding payments Indonesia is negotiating with China on an additional 560 million dollars loan and asking for a lower interest rate of 2.8 percent for the portion of the loan in Yuan compared to the bid of China Development Bank offering 3.46 accordingly a fresh loan is needed to help cover a 1.2 billion dollars cost overrun ptkcic was awarded the project in 2015 after lodging a cheaper proposal than a Japanese rival with completion expected in 2019 but the project has been plagued by delays due to land ownership disputes questions over its economic impact and the covid-19 pandemic ptkcic expects it will take 40 years for its investment to become profitable twice as long as initial estimates according to an executive report last year even as the project nears completion questions remain about its commercial and financial viability of the project one-way tickets on the line will cost up to 350 000 rupiah around 23.56 depending on the distance traveled nearly a quarter of the average indonesian's weekly income in a move to Foster widespread enthusiasm for the Jakarta Bond on high-speed train the government has announced a three-month grace period starting from August 18th until October 2023 during which complementary tickets will be distributed as part of the soft operation phase these tickets will be exclusively available to individuals who meet specific criteria while emphasizing the significance of local representation and Community involvement it has stated that priority for the free passes will be given to prominent figures and residents living in close proximity to the line this includes influencers observers analysts communities and journalists the planned 45-minute train ride between Jakarta and Banda Compares with a car journey of two to three hours or the current three-hour rail trip but with the terminal stations located outside the city centers the high-speed rail line could struggle to attract the business passengers being targeted according to a transportation Analyst at the University of Indonesia the train does not go all the way into the city center of either Bandung or Jakarta a choice made by planners to avoid certain engineering and construction challenges given that the project has incurred billions of dollars in loans from the China Development Bank and that government officials now want to extend the line all the way to Surabaya is Indonesia's new High-Speed Rail Line worth it whether or not the rail line turns a profit Jakarta is hoping that the project brings a wider range of subsidiary benefits public transit systems especially High-Speed Rail lines are often operated at a loss it is true that Indonesia wanted this project to provide alternative means of a modern and faster transport system between cities but the real prize was to secure the transfer of Technology skills and operational know-how with the purpose that in the future Indonesian Rail and construction companies can improve their position on the techno-industrial frontier the government is looking to acquire the production capabilities and knowledge and indigenously build and operate its own high-speed Railways enrolling stock in the future or at least gain competency in some aspects of the process the Chinese bid was ultimately chosen because those intangible benefits were reportedly offered as part of the package to that end the project has been structured as a joint venture called ptkcic a Chinese Consortium holds a 40 stake in ptkcic the main Chinese investors China Railway Engineering Corporation a state-owned holding company and majority shareholder of China Railway group Limited China Railway group limited is an infrastructure construction giant that recorded revenue of 171 billion dollars in 2022 they were also one of the main contractors for the recently built Laos China High-Speed Rail the Jakarta Bond on Rail Project is the most high profile of China's belt and Road initiative projects in Indonesia Southeast Asia's largest economy it has been touted by Indonesia and China as a symbol of the close ties between the two countries the project is also a Showcase of China's Ambitions to export its High-Speed Rail technology and expand its influence in the region China has been competing with Japan which has a long history of building bullet trains for rail projects in Southeast Asia the Jakarta Bond on HSR is further proof that China's technology and standards for High-Speed Rail have now been recognized outside China the completion of the Laos China Railway in Jakarta to bond on high-speed Railway is a testament to the success of China's belt and Road initiative in the region that will spur regional growth in Southeast Asia and China this Railway will take form an important part of the 5500 kilometers trans-asia railways which begins in yunnan's provincial capital Kunming and travels through Laos Myanmar Thailand Vietnam Cambodia and Malaysia before ending in Singapore and eventually connected to Indonesia for maritime links in Sumatra and Java the belt and Road initiative is China's 1 trillion dollars plus program to finance and build infrastructure across the globe [Music]

Channel: ASEAN Analytics

Views: 52,007

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Id: cQLJ1XW98tE

Length: 10min 54sec (654 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 15 2023