Govt to open airport train bid next year

Transportation Vice Minister Bambang Susantono told reporters Thursday that the investment needed to construct a railway line connecting the Mangarai station in South Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta International airport in Tangerang, Banten, will be offered to investors by June next year.

“Several countries have shown their interest to join the bid,” Bambang said, adding that those countries included China, Korea and Japan.

Bambang said that the government had revised the master design of the project, adding some elevated lines.

He said that the construction of the 33-kilometer railway line would require Rp 10 trillion (US$ 1.1 billion) in investment of which Rp 3 trillion would be disbursed by the government to clear the land.

“We expect to finish the project by 2014,” he said.

The airport train is expected to carry 24,109 passengers a day.
The project is expected to ease traffic congestion, which often blocks traffic from the city to the airport.