Chinese solution for Indonesian railway to be 60% localized: Expert

BEIJING - China's proposal to build Indonesia's first high speed railway will be 60 percent localized, He Huawu, chief engineer of China Railway Corporation, said Friday.

According to China's proposal, whatever can be bought in Indonesia and meet quality standards will be purchased locally and Indonesians will enjoy priority in job opportunities related to the project, he said.

The 60 percent includes using local construction material and equipment while training professionals on high speed rail, he said.

Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, handed over a feasibility study to Indonesia on Aug 10.

Indonesia announced last month it would hold an open bidding for the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway, which is expected to cut the travel time between the two cities from the current three hours to less than 40 minutes.