New | China’s high-speed railway project in Indonesia suspended over incomplete paperwork

China’s joint project to build a high-speed railway in Indonesia has been suspended over unresolved issues and incomplete paperwork, according to the ­Jakarta Post.

The revelation, published on Wednesday, came just six days after Indonesian President Joko Widodo officiated the project’s groundbreaking ceremony.

It prompted talk that the latest turn of events could deal another blow to China’s global high-speed railway push.

READ MORE: China wins Indonesia high-speed rail project as Japan laments ‘extremely regrettable’ U-turn

Indonesian transport minister Ignasius Jonan told the House of Representatives on Wednesday that his ministry had yet to issue a permit for the US$5.5 billion railway to go ahead as the company involved had not submitted the required documents.

“We are very strict [on this] because this is the first time we are conducting this kind of project, and we are not done with the evaluation,” the Jakarta Post quoted Jonan as saying at a hearing of the House of Representatives.

The railway – being built by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned firm and China Railway International – is expected to start running by 2019. China Development Bank covers 75 per cent of the project’s loans.

Among the 11 documents required for a construction permit, KCIC failed to submit files detailing the development design, technical illustrations, field data and specifications, according to the newspaper. The firm now holds a permit only for building the first 5km of the railway.