“Bungled Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail line causes chaos”, 28 July 2020

Construction of Indonesia’s first high-speed rail line, linking the capital Jakarta with the country’s third largest city, Bandung, has faltered amid mishaps – ranging from floods, landslides and cracked buildings – exacerbated by bad management and poor environmental protection procedures.

… a Sino–Indonesian joint venture was established to build the 142.3km line… PT Kereta Api Indonesia China (KCIC) brought together several Indonesian state-owned enterprises and a consortium of Chinese rail companies led by Beijing Yawan HSR Co. Ltd…

… Acting Director General of Public Works Danis Sumadilaga said piles of soil dumped on roadsides had buried drainage channels and caused the flooding, adding that shoddy management practices paid scant attention to security, health and safety, or the environment…

… There have also been complaints of damage to nearby homes, improper landfill and waste dumping…

… concerns have been voiced from the start that the project’s environmental impact assessments were inadequate, with limited efforts to consult the public or NGOs…

WALHI West Java highlighted concerns that it would impact water supplies, increase landslides and cause environmental stresses to surrounding landscapes…

Blasting work for tunnels in the area of the Tipar Sari Asih housing complex in the West Java town of Cimahi has caused serious damage. “Many walls of the houses cracked. Finally, there was information that [the company] would examine the impact, but until now, the results of the inspection have not been made public,” he [Meiki Paendong, executive director of WALHI West Java] said…

Under Indonesian law, an environmental impact assessment (EIA, or AMDAL in Indonesian) is required for all infrastructure project developments.

Paendong believes the flooding shows that the EIA was flawed, as it failed to address the closure and loss of drainage flows due to land-use change…

[Also referred to Japanese International Cooperation Agency]