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RI officials no idea about Bruneian firm's HSR proposal in Kalimantan
Indonesian Transportation Ministry has not received any formal pitch about the proposed high speed rail-link project.
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On the right track: Workers examine train cars for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway at a maintenance depot belonging to PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), the operator of the railway, in Tegalluar, Bandung regency, West Java. (Antara/Ricky Prayoga)
T
he government has denied any knowledge of a proposal by a Bruneian infrastructure company to build a high-speed railway (HSR) network connecting the three countries on Borneo Island, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia, dubbed the Trans Borneo Railway.
Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters on Monday he was aware of no such proposal and denied the project existed.
Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters on Tuesday that he had no idea about the proposal, which will reportedly pass through the territories of the three countries on Borneo, namely Brunei itself; Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia; and Indonesian Kalimantan.
Separately, the Transportation Ministry’s railway director general, Risal Wasal, said on Tuesday that the government had not engaged in any discussion with its Malaysian or Bruneian counterparts regarding the cross-border rail link project.
“This was merely somebody’s proposal to build a railway,” Risal clarified, emphasizing he had not received any formal pitch about the project.
The project was announced by Brunei-based company Brunergy Utama on its website, which made headlines at the end of March.
The proposed rail link would span about 1,620 kilometers, connecting places in Borneo known for their natural resources, including oil, coal and palm plantations.
