West Java to Break Ground to Mark Construction Of Monorail Project

Bandung, W Java, March 6 (Antara) - The West Java provincial administration will break the ground in July to mark the start of construction of a monorail project in the province. The first phase of construction is the Leuwipanjang-Gedebage-Jatinangor-Tanjungsari section, a provincial spokesman Iwa Karniwa said here on Thursday. The section that will link the city of Bandung and the regencies of Bandung and Sumedang, is around 28.95 kilometers long. "The groundbreaking is expected to be on time in July 2015," Iwa said. He said the Chinese government, represented by the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) as the investor has shown its seriousness in the implementation of the project. He said discussions on details took place on Thursday in Bandung with Chinese representatives including officials. "Discussions covered greater details than in previous meetings concerning finance, technical studies and analysis on environmental impact, etc.," he said. He said finance is one of the most crucial in the implementation of the project, adding the cost for the first section construction could reach Rp5.9 trillion based on the normal rupiah exchange rate of 8,000-9,000 per US dollar. "Now a dollar is worth Rp13,000. Hopefully the process of implementation could run well," he said.