The project under Belt and Road links the capital Jakarta with the economic hub of Bandung.

Indonesia has inaugurated its first high-speed railway, a $7.3bn (£5.9) project backed by China under its Belt and Road Initiative.

President Joko Widodo launched the service, which connects the capital Jakarta to Bandung, a top economic hub.

The railway is named Whoosh, a Bahasa Indonesia acronym that translates to time-saving and reliable.

Mr Widodo has prioritised projects like Whoosh to ease the country’s severe traffic jams.

The railway was originally scheduled to open in 2019 but was delayed due to land disputes, the Covid-19 pandemic and a $1.2bn (£984m) budget overrun.

  • cyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
    107·
    1 year ago

    The bullet train’s speed will mainly appeal to business travellers and tourists, according to Dedi Dinarto, lead Indonesia analyst at strategic advisory firm Global Counsel.

    “It raises uncertainty about whether this substantial infrastructure investment, funded both by China and the national budget, will prove profitable for the government,” he said.

    Yeah because ordinary people never wanna travel on trains. They prefer traffic jams. Fuck off…