China-backed railway bridge breaks ground in Indonesia

POWERCHINA began drilling the first pile foundation for the longest bridge along the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway in Indonesia on May 15.

POWERCHINA begins the construction on the first pile foundation for the longest bridge along the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway on May 15. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

The construction on the 46-meter-long, one-meter-wide pile foundation marked the grand commencement of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The 142-km-long railway will connect Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, with its fourth largest city, Bandung, and allow trains to travel at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

After completion, the fast line will bring frontier transportation service technologies to Indonesian people and cut travel time between the two cities from more than three hours to less than 40 minutes.

Therefore, POWERCHINA has been pulling out all the stops to fulfill the joint project between China and Indonesia by the deadline. The construction of the project's first pile foundation is but a symbol of the unremitting efforts and methodical preparations that the project has required.

On May 2, an inspection group made up of leaders from Chinese contractors including Lu Dongfu, general manager of China Railway Corp, and Yan Zhiyong, chairman of POWERCHINA, visited the construction site and carried out detailed checks.

During that inspection, Yan Zhiyong noted that POWERCHINA will optimize project management, specify construction details and facilitate regional cooperation to improve ties between China and Indonesia.