C. Kalimantan mulls toll road for coal transport

By Thomas Sembiring

The Central Kalimantan provincial administration is looking into the possibility of developing a total road to facilitate the transport of coal from mines in the province to the local ports.

Governor Sugianto Sabran told Petromindo.com on Wednesday that developing a toll road for coal transport is much cheaper than the alternative of developing coal railway.

He added that the toll road option was discussed with Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan on the sidelines of the signing of the amendment of 27 mining contracts on Wednesday in Jakarta.

?I tend to agree with the view of the minister, toll road is better. The required funds is smaller and it will be good for the people,? he said, pointing out that developing a 200-km toll road will require investment of around Rp 7 trillion compared to Rp 72 trillion for a coal railway.

He added, that while investors from China and Russia have previously expressed interest in developing coal railway in the province and the surrounding regions, the administration is still reviewing the option and is still assessing the seriousness of the investors.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak