T

he government is offering the construction of a railway project worth about Rp 2.4 trillion (US$249.6 million) in Batam, Riau islands, to foreign investors particularly from Russia and neighboring Singapore.

The director general of railway Tundjung Inderawan said in Batam on Wednesday that the government hoped investors from Russia or from neighboring Singapore were interested in the railway project.

 A number of foreign investors such as those from Russia had expressed their keen interest to take part in railway projects in Kalimantan. He hoped the Batam railway project would also attract Russian investors.

“We have seen an urgency to establish a railway system in Batam because this is a free trade zone and shares borders with neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. We also see long term economic feasibility for a railway transportation mode in Batam,” Tundjung said in Batam on Wednesday.

He said that the government has had the railway project master plan prepared for Batam since 2009, followed by a feasibility study in 2010.

This year and next year, they would arrange basic designs of the railway in order to determine the sections.

According to the 2009 master plan, there are three sections that have been identified, spanning 60 kilometers: Batu Ampar–Batu Aji (27.55 kilometers), Sekupang–Batam Center (16.48 kilometers), and Batam Center–Nongsa (16.36 kilometers).

At the end of 2013 through 2016, they expect to start the land acquisition process, tender, and construction so that the project is able to begin operations in 2017.

 “The first priority is connecting Hang Nadim Airport to Batu Ampar and Batam Center to Tanjung Ucang. Both are busy routes that link economic areas with Hang Nadim as a gateway to other places,” he added.

Meanwhile, Batam Regional Management Body (BPK Batam) chairman Mustofa Wijaya said that the project had been offered to foreign investors in every occasion including when he went to the US in early October.

Contacted separately, Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said that the government is currently conducting feasibility on another mega railway project Trans-Sulawesi connecting Manado in the north to Makassar in the south.

“This is going to be a public private partnership project and we hope construction can begin before 2014,” Bambang told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta.

He said that the project is part of the Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Growth (MP3EI) to help boost development in the Sulawesi Economic Corridor.

They expect to start construction in Makassar–Pare Pare section, spanning 136 kilometers before they begin other sections. “This is going to be a long-term project because it is connecting the tip of Sulawesi in the north and the south, and we realize that land acquisition will not be as easy as we think,” he continued.