C. Kalimantan coal railway tender winner announcement delayed to Dec.

The winner of the contract to build a 185-km coal railway worth US$2 billion linking Puruk Cahu to Bangkuang will be announced in December of this year, a senior official of the Central Kalimantan provincial administration said.

Syahrin Daulay, the province's head of development planning agency told Petromindo.Com on Thursday that the bidding proposal should be submitted by August, this year as the latest.

Once the winner will be appointed, the construction will be started immediately and it expected to be commissioned in December 2014, Syahrin said.

He also said that land acquisition will be expected to be cleared by the Central Kalimantan government before the signing of the contract with the appointed winner.

As of April 14, the proposal document has not been given by the bidders, he added.

Of a total of 10 firms that have submitted participation documents, four have passed the pre-qualification stage of the tender for the project. The four bidders are a consortium comprising Itochu and Toll consortium, the consortium of Drydocks and MAP Resources Indonesia, Bakrie Indo Infrastructure and a consortium led by Mega Guna Ganda Semesta. (denny)