Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on Tuesday drew attention to the likelihood of the project of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed trains being suspended over the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
"We could not assume anything yet since we also have the option to speed up the project in order to achieve its target. However, we are really aware of this. The project may need to be suspended if the outbreak tends to extend," Pandjaitan remarked.
Apart from the Jakarta-Bandung trains project, uncertainty looms large over the outbreak possibly impacting several projects in eastern Indonesia, including in Morowali, Weda Bay, and Konawe, as their numbers reach up to billions of US dollars.
"For instance, the export process that is supposed to be running this year should be suspended for months," he noted while drawing reference to stainless steel and carbon steel industries in those three regions.
It was since many Chinese workers have not returned to industrial locations, so they are temporarily out of production.
In such a situation, carbon steel exports could not meet the annual target set at US$15 billion.
"Last year, our export target was set at US$12 billion, but we only had some US$8 billion. This year, the target increased to US$15 billion, but we are not going to make it," Pandjaitan revealed.
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