Indonesia and Japan have agreed on a $50 billion deal for the construction of a high-speed railway connecting Jakarta, the capital, with Bandung, the capital of West Java province.
The project, which has been in the planning stages for several years, is expected to be completed by 2023 and will be the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia.
The agreement was signed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Jakarta on Friday.
The project will be funded by a combination of Japanese loans and Indonesian government funds.
The high-speed railway will have a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour (217 miles per hour) and will reduce the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from about three hours to about 40 minutes.
The project is expected to create thousands of jobs and boost economic growth in both Indonesia and Japan.
It is also seen as a symbol of the growing economic ties between the two countries.
Indonesia is Japan’s second-largest trading partner, and Japan is Indonesia’s largest source of foreign investment.
The two countries have also been cooperating on a number of other infrastructure projects, including the pembangunan of a new international airport in Jakarta.
The high-speed railway project is a major step forward in the relationship between Indonesia and Japan, and it is expected to have a significant impact on the economic development of both countries..
