Jokowi to inaugurate high-speed train project

JAKARTA. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is scheduled to attend the groundbreaking event of Indonesia's first-ever high-speed railway on Thursday.

According to the agenda distributed by the Presidential staff, Jokowi and First Lady Iriana will attend the event at 10:30 a.m. in Cikalong Wetan, in the West Bandung regency.

The Rp 70 trillion project, undertaken in collaboration with China, will span the 142 kilometers from Jakarta to Bandung and is expected to be completed by 2019.

The high-speed train, running at 350 kilometers per hour, is predicted to take 36 minutes to get from Jakarta to Bandung. The train will later be integrated with local mass transportation systems like the Mass Rapid Transit and the Light Rail Transit.

After the inauguration, Jokowi is scheduled to lead a limited Cabinet meeting at the State Palace to discuss terrorism prevention, deradicalization programs and the 2016 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).