Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The government will go ahead with the Jakarta-Bandung high speed train project despite the ongoing protests against it, an official said.
"The high speed train project is part of the efforts to modernize the mass transport system and we will build it," chief of the presidential staffs office, Teten Masduki, said at a press conference at the Presidential Palace premises here on Tuesday.
Also present at the press conference were Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, President Director of PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) Anggoro and the presidents special staff for communication, Johan Budi SP.
Masduki said the construction of the high speed railway line is aimed at ensuring connectivity among cities and regions in the country.
"This is part of the project to develop railway linkages in Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Papua, with the track having a total length of 3,258 km," he said.
The government received two proposals from Japan and China to develop the high speed train project. As the government decided to develop the project under a business-to-business scheme, it accepted the Chinese proposal, he said.
He said the government has always tried to take quick decisions in many cases, including the development of infrastructure projects.
"It is towards this end that the government deregulated some existing rules that were hampering decision making. This is the governments commitment," he said.
He said President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also wanted the relevant parties to pay attention to all aspects related to the development of the high speed train project, including transparency and good corporate governance.
He said the government will not provide any financial guarantee from the state budget for this project. "What is needed is a guarantee of consistent policy," he said.(WDY)
