According to the latest rumours, the government of Indonesia tends to favour China to build the nation's first high-speed railway that will connect the capital city of Jakarta and Bandung in West Java. Over the past weeks, the ‘battle’ between China and Japan over who will be awarded the contract to construct the high-speed and high-profile railway between both cities (worth approx. USD $5 billion) heightened.
China and Japan are locked in an increasingly heated contest to build Indonesia’s first high-speed railway, with the Asian giants sweetening deals and turning up the charm as time runs out to woo Jakarta.
The rivalry over this major project is justthe latest to flare up as China challenges Japan’s long-standing dominance in Southeast Asia as a key source of infrastructure funding.