Central Kalimantan, known for its rich in mineral resources, particularly coal, plans to build a railway network that will connects its mines in the northern part of the province with seaports.
Head of the provincial development planning agency Syahrin Daulay told a seminar on railway in Jakarta on Thursday the construction of the railroad network would be divided into six steps.
The long-term project will start with construction of a 185km railroad between Puruk Cahu and Bangkuang, followed by a 175km railway connecting Bangkuang and Lupak Dalam seaport.
In the next four phases the railway network will link Kudangan-Kumai (195 km), Puruk Cahu-Kuala Kurun-Kuala Pembuang (466 km), Tumbang Samba-Nanga Bulik (418 km) and Kuala Kurun-Lupak Dalam (390 km).
“We choose railroad to transport mining products as we consider it massive, stabile, cheap, fast and environmentally friendly mode of transportation,” Syahrin said as quoted by kompas.com.
He said the infrastructure project would require a huge investment, but he refused to disclose the amount.
It will take a train 10-12 hours to make a round trip, faster than truck (15-16 hours) and barges (7 days), he added.
In terms of capacity, a train has a load capacity of 7,000-10,000 tons, far exceeds that of a truck which is able to carry 10-15 tons of mining products. “Train is reliable and not affected by season and weather, not to mention its cheap maintenance cost,” Syahrin said.
A total of 10 investors, five of them from overseas, have passed the pre-qualification stage for the construction of a coal railway worth US$2.2 billion between Puruk Cahu and Bangkuang. The tender winner is expected to sign a contract in June 2011, with construction expected to start at the end of that year. The railway is slated to operate two or three years after the start of the construction.
No comments:
Post a Comment