Kalimantan's Mega Railway Project To Commence In 2016

Jakarta, March 21 (Antara) - The Rp25 trillion-worth construction of a mega railway project across Indonesia's Kalimantan Island is expected to commence in 2016, with numerous foreign and private investors expressing a readiness to undertake the project. The provincial governments of East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan have already signed an agreement related to the construction of the railway line to connect the largest cities on the island. Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Friday in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan that the railway line will stretch for no less than 2 thousand kilometers from Pontianak in West Kalimantan to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, and on to Samarinda in East Kalimantan. "The railway line must be constructed by the Ministry of Transportation, even the land acquisition funds will be sourced from the state budget because the President has approved it," Ignasius said. The Kalimantan Island is made up of five provinces, namely West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan; and now it is time for them to be connected by mass transportation, he added. "The provinces are located really far from one another and therefore they need mass transportation like a train," the Transportation Minister said. He added that a budget of Rp25 trillion will be allocated for the project for five years, with the feasibility study, land acquisition, and licensing process, worth Rp60 billion starting this year. "A feasibility study, licensing process, and land acquisition will be carried out in 2015," he noted, adding that construction will begin in 2016 and that the project is expected to finish in 2017. Ignasius had asked the region to provide land for the project and conduct an environmental impact analysis of the project. East Kalimantan Governor Mukmin Faisjal, who accompanied the minister to Balikpapan, expressed his readiness to carry out all these tasks. "I will do anything I can for the sake of the prosperity and welfare of the people," Governor Faisjal said. The provisional results of a study pointed out that railway tracks to be constructed in Kalimantan must be wider than those in Java. According to an expert staffer of the minister, Hadi Mustofa Djuraid, tracks will be 1,435 meters wide or wider than those in Java, which are 1,067 meters wide, given the soil quality of the province, which is mostly soft clay. If the width of the railway tracks is broader, engines and carriages used will also be wider, Mustofa remarked, adding that engines to be used later might possibly be of the diesel electric type, Mustofa explained. "The operator will be PT KAI, who is also the operator in Java," he noted. Meanwhile, Director General of Railway Affairs Hermanto Dwiatmoko, said the Transportation Ministry has allocated Rp9 trillion to finance the first phase of the construction of railway tracks in Kalimantan. "The Rp9 trillion in funds will be used to finance a feasibility study, land clearance and the first phase of the construction of railway tracks connecting Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan," Hermanto said in Palangkaraya on Thursday. In total, the construction of the 2,000 kilometer-long railway tracks in Kalimantan would cost an estimated Rp25 trillion, he said. Hermanto noted that the funding needed might go up as the land in Kalimantan is mostly made up of peat land, which needs a special construction method. The ministry and the governments of all provinces in Kalimantan are also conducting a feasibility study on the construction of railway tracks. "If everything is alright, the construction of the railway tracks in Kalimantan could be completed in five years' time," he said. In January 2014, Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang and the President Director of PT Perkeretaapian Tambun Bungai Mulyadi Sendjaya had signed a joint agreement in Palangkaraya to construct a 425-kilometer railway track from Pucuk Cahu to Batanjung. Mulyadi was representing the China Railway Consortium Group Limited, which had won the US$5,476 billion project tender. According to the joint agreement, the consortium has been given four years to construct the railway and five decades to operate it, before it is handed over to the provincial administration. "Third-party commodities will use this transportation regime. So, after 50 years of commercial operation, the railway will be handed over to the provincial administration," Teras said after the signing ceremony. The Central Kalimantan Governor said that since it will be a commercial operation, the train infrastructure would be built and would function as public transportation for passengers and goods. He also said that according to the agreement, the consortium would also build a train network and system, seaports and other supporting facilities. The train system would include a control system, traffic lights and signals, a communications system, trains, wagons, a workshop facility, terminals, loading and unloading facilities.