Jakarta (VNA)– Indonesia will build two railways on Java island –the world’s most populous island under the 2020-2024 National Medium-TermDevelopment Plan signed by President Joko Widodo on January 20.
The tworailways will have a total investment of 4.6 billion USD, about two-thirds ofwhich will be covered by public-private partnerships.
Constructionon the 435km Jakarta-Semarang high-speed railway will begin in 2023 and finishin 2024, which will cut travel time to 3.5 hours from the current 5 hours.
A businessconsortium of Indonesian and Chinese companies called PT Kereta CepatIndonesia-China (KCIC) will build the 142-km Jakarta-Bandung railway, whichwill cut travel time from three hours to just 40 minutes.
The plan is expected to help transform Indonesia as the President hopes to achieve his goalof becoming one of the top five largesteconomies by 2045 with a poverty rate of almost zero percent./.