Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed rail needs to rely on government support

The president of PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) said the continued progress of the Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed rail project relies on government support.Since HSR is expensive to build and not all banks or financial institutions have the capacity and willingness to finance it, in many countries the supply of HSR usually comes from the government, depending on its willingness to do so. At least the land and part of the infrastructure must be provided by the government, and if all of it is borne by KCIC, it will make its investment payback burden heavier and the cycle longer, which is one of the lessons learned from the previous Yavan HSR Whoosh project. He believes that KCIC deserves to continue to grow and should not only serve the Jakarta-Bandung line. From the point of view of economies of scale, there is a need to expand the line to places such as Yogyakarta or Surabaya, but all of this must depend on the government. The government has actually developed a master plan for the Jakarta-Surabaya HSR in the national transportation system. The plan is currently being reviewed by the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development and due to its long time, it needs to be adjusted according to the latest situation. The Jakarta-Surabaya HSR is still in the preliminary study stage, so it has not yet been possible to determine where the route (a plan with known coordinates of the HSR line stations) will be, whether it is possible to build it, and the ability to finance it. The project is still a long way from implementation, but the government has the intention to push this direction, which currently depends on its financial situation, route, etc., as there is a need to learn from the Jakarta-Bandung project and conduct a lot of evaluation.