Jakarta, Jan 18 (IANS): Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the construction site of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway (HSR) No. 2 Tunnel to inspect the construction progress.

Widodo said the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is generally progressing smoothly regardless of difficulties such as the complex geological conditions and the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is hoped that the whole project will be put into operation in June 2023, reports Xinhua news agency.

He hopes that all construction parties would jointly promote the construction with high quality, and show the achievements and cooperation between Indonesia and China to the world during the G20 summit later this year.

This is the second time that President Widodo has inspected the Jakarta-Bandung HSR.

The No. 2 Tunnel is a single-hole and double-track tunnel with a total length of 1,052 metres, of which about 70 per cent have been excavated.

The construction of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR started in June 2018, and 91.2 per cent of the civil works have been completed.

The station building and track laying are progressing steadily, with 30 of the 38 continuous beams in the whole alignment having been closed and 10 of the 13 tunnels completed.

With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung, capital of West Java province, from more than three hours to around 40 minutes.