CONSTRUCTION WORK FOR RAILWAY PROJECTS OUTSIDE JAVA TO START SOON by Fardah

   Jakarta, Sept 24, 2015 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo has pledged that the government will soon start the construction of railway projects outside Java.

         The president said this after the groundbreaking ceremony of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in East Jakarta, on Sept. 9, 2015.

         Mass transportation infrastructure is not being solely constructed on Java Island, President Jokowi stated.

         "By the end of this month, the development of a railway line will begin in Sulawesi. The groundbreaking was initially scheduled to be held in August, but I will officiate at such a ceremony only after at least five to seven kilometers long stretch is constructed," he noted, adding that the construction work must be carried out seriously.

          A railway line will also be built in Papua, he said. "Feasibility study for the railway construction plan in Papua is now underway and is expected to be completed by December this year. So, we will start the development work next year," he remarked.

         The president expressed the need to elaborate on the plans as he did not want to give an impression that infrastructure construction work was only being carried out on Java Island.

         The government will, in stages, construct mass transportation infrastructure across the country, he remarked.

          "Everybody must help to make the infrastructure development projects a success. No mass transportation project should be delayed. It has to begin soon and be completed soon," Jokowi affirmed.

         Besides the one in Jakarta, the government planned to construct LRT projects in seven big cities such as Surabaya (East Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi), Semarang (Central Java), Medan (North Sumatra), and Palembang (South Sumatra), Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said following a limited cabinet meeting chaired by President Jokowi, on Sept. 22.

        "Later, there will an official announcement by the government regarding this," Anung, a PDIP politician, said.   
   In the meantime, President Jokowi said construction of railway infrastructure in Papua will start next year.

        "I hope the feasibility study of the project would be wrapped up in the last quarter of 2015 and work would start to build the facility in 2016," Jokowi said recently.

       Development of the railway transport facility in Papua is aimed at underscoring that the government wants to bring prosperity to all regions in the country, he said .

        "We don't want to hear people saying that the government is interested only in developing Java," Jokowi said when inaugurating the ground breaking ceremony of the LRT Indonesia at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, on Sept. 9.

       Meanwhile, the Jakarta Post recently reported that President Jokowi is set to inaugurate the initial construction stage of the Trans Sulawesi railway, connecting Makassar and Pare-Pare, in mid-October.

       According to the Transportation Ministry's director general for railways, Hermanto Dwiatmoko, the ministry is currently making final preparations for the new railway, including land acquisitions and land leveling along the tracks.

       Hermanto added that the project will use around 10 percent imported materials and is scheduled to open in 2019, providing a modern, high-speed rail service.

       "We will need around Rp 11 trillion [US$796 million] to finish the [project]," Hermanto  was quoted by tempo.co as having said.

       As for the construction work on the Trans Kalimantan railway line,  the central government expected that it would be completed in 2020.

       "The construction of the railway line connecting all regions of Kalimantan is part of the central government's program and is funded by the state budget. We in the region are only facilitating and supporting its implementation," Mahmud Syamsul Hadi, a spokesman of the East Kalimantan transportation office, stated in Samarinda, recently.

       Currently, the feasibility study is ongoing, and the environmental impact assessment will be carried out in 2016.

       A feasibility study is being conducted on the 89-kilometer-long Balikpapan-Samarinda line.

        The actual construction work will be carried out from 2018 until 2020, with funding allocated from the state budget through a multi-year pattern.

         However, the construction work began in 2015 with the construction of a railway line connecting South Kalimantan with East Kalimantan, and later, East Kalimantan with North Kalimantan.

        The first stage covers a 150-kilometer-long line from Tanjung District in East Kalimantan to Tana Gerogot, Paser District, in the same province.

         The second stage will cover a total length of 84 kilometers from Tana Grogot to Balikpapan City.    
   The railway stretch in the East Kalimantan Province is expected to have 17 stations.

         According to Tempo.co, the Transportation Ministry will allocate Rp 9 trillion for the first stage of the development of the trans-Kalimantan railway.

         "The funds will be used for feasibility study, land acquisition and the first development stage of Palangkaraya railway to Banjarmasin," said Hermanto Dwiatmoko, director general for railways at the Ministry.

        Construction of the 2,000-km trans-Kalimantan railway is expected to cost around Rp 23 trillion.

        Hermanto said that the funds' estimate could later increase because most areas in Kalimantan comprise peatlands, which requires special construction.

         He assured that the trans-Kalimantan railway will have more advanced technology compared to railways in Java. ***1***
(f001/INE)
(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 25-09-2015 00:29:06