Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his optimism on Sino-Indonesian ties. (Photo : REUTERS)
Serving as a major achievement in railway cooperation between Indonesia and China, the first high-speed railway project was unveiled on Thursday in Walini, West Java Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
At the ceremony, Chinese state councilor Wang Yong read a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed to Indonesian leader Joko Widodo.
In his message, Xi said that the successful launch of the venture did only set a new record in the Sino-Indonesian ties, it was also regarded as a new paradigm for the two nation's bilateral cooperation in fields such as production capacity and infrastructure.
The Chinese president also expressed optimism that both countries will further foster their collaboration to ensure the project's smooth construction and due completion.
The first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia and Indonesia, the venture is expected to greatly leave an impact to local economic development.
Meanwhile, Wang remarked that China "hopes to take the project as an opportunity to actively participate in the development of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway economic belt, and enhance the bilateral cooperation in various areas including investment, production capacity, electricity, finance, in an effort to promote common development and prosperity of the two countries."
For Widodo's part, he said that the endeavor is "a great project jointly pushed by Indonesian and Chinese governments," hoping that the two parties will further intensify their partnerships.
"I hope this project could bring benefit to local people both in the short and long term," he added. He also noted that the project is part of his government's strategy to pursue competitiveness.
The railway will link Indonesian capital Jakarta and the city of Bandung, which has an approximate distance of 150 kilometers. It will trim the travel time between the two cities from three hours to only less than 40 minutes.
China Railway Co. Ltd. and Indonesian state-owned firms signed a deal earlier in Oct. 2015 to form a joint venture, the PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, for the said project.
After the ceremony, Widodo, Wang and West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan inspected the readiness of the needed equipment to carry out the construction.
Hanggoro, the joint firm's president, said that the project would "use local components up to 63 percent, employ 39,000 workers during the construction period with employment priority on domestic workers."
