A Chinese-led consortium and an Indonesian company have signed a letter of memorandum on railway construction in Indonesia. The memorandum is considered a substantive step towards advancing railway construction cooperation between the two countries. The project, which will create a 160 km link between the capital city of Jakarta and Bandung, the nation’s third largest city, will entail an investment of $6 billion. In addition, the planned high speed rail (HSR) line between Jakarta and Surabaya has also attracted a number of foreign investors, including from China. China has explicitly stated its intent to support infrastructure projects in Indonesia in sectors such as railways, highways, ports, piers, dams, airports and bridges.
