Post #150969

Indonesia launches China-backed 'Whoosh' high-speed railway Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday inaugurated a $7.3 billion high-speed railway connecting the country's capital with the city of Bandung, a China-backed project that has been marred with problems. The 142-kilometre (88.23-mile) railway, one of the president's flagship infrastructure projects and part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, has faced problems ranging from land procurement issues, pandemic-related delays and ballooning costs. Monday's launch for the bullet train named "Whoosh" is far behind an original target of operations in 2019. "The name is inspired by the sound of a rushing high speed train," Jokowi, as the president is popularly called, said during the launch. read more