Off the rails – Indonesia's Belt and Road rail mess
South-east Asia's first bullet train is half-way there, according to the Indonesian government. Others say the much-delayed $7.8 billion project, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, should never have begun.
Sydney/Jakarta | Earlier this year, the Japanese International Co-operation Agency team working on a new rail link between Jakarta and Surabaya, the country's second-biggest city, was taken aback by a request from the Indonesian government.
Could JICA speak to the Chinese-backed venture behind another new line, the much-anticipated, high-speed link from the Indonesian capital to Bandung in West Java? Perhaps the two projects could be combined?
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Emma Connors was South-east Asia correspondent from October 2019 until mid-2023, based in Jakarta and Singapore. She has previously edited Perspective and Opinion and has written extensively across the AFR and related titles. Connect with Emma on Twitter. Email Emma at emma.connors@nine.com.au
