Photo taken on Dec. 15, 2020 shows the holing-through site of the No. 1 Tunnel of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) in Jakarta, Indonesia. No. 1 Tunnel was successfully holed through on Tuesday here, marking another significant progress in the construction of the railway. With a total length of 1,885 meters, the tunnel is the control work of the HSR project and plays a crucial role in the completion of the construction. The construction of Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway project was launched in 2016 and built with Chinese technology. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

JAKARTA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- No. 1 Tunnel of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) was successfully holed through on Tuesday here, marking another significant progress in the construction of the railway.

With a total length of 1,885 meters, the tunnel is the control work of the HSR project and plays a crucial role in the completion of the construction.

Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said in a virtual speech during the ceremony that the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is a landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative.

He said that personnel from China and Indonesia have been working hard for the construction of the project and steadily pushing forward the construction, overcoming the adverse effects of COVID-19.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the Indonesian government hopes that the railway will become a modern public infrastructure project that will meet people's transportation needs, increase productivity and bring positive influence to the economy and well-being of the Indonesian society.

The construction of the railway project has achieved handful progress this year -- the drilling-through of the tunnels of No. 5, No. 3 and No. 7, the completion of the construction for a major continuous beam and the first multi-span rigid frame continuous beam for a bridge.

The construction of Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway project was launched in 2016. The 142.3 km-long project will connect the country's capital Jakarta and Bandung in West Java province.

With a speed of 350 km per hour, the high-speed railway built with Chinese technology will cut the journey from more than three hours to around 40 minutes. Enditem

Photo taken on Dec. 15, 2020 shows the holing-through site of the No. 1 Tunnel of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) in Jakarta, Indonesia. No. 1 Tunnel was successfully holed through on Tuesday here, marking another significant progress in the construction of the railway. With a total length of 1,885 meters, the tunnel is the control work of the HSR project and plays a crucial role in the completion of the construction. The construction of Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway project was launched in 2016 and built with Chinese technology. (Xinhua/Du Yu)