Construction of new railway for PTBA's coal transportation delayed

The government's plan to build 87-km railway linking Kertapati in Palembang, South Sumatra and the province's Tanjung Api Api port to boost coal transportation from state-owned coal mining company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) has been delayed, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

Hermanto Dwiatmoko, the technical director at the transportation ministry, said in Jakarta on Monday that the government had decided to delay the development of the new railway until next year and shifted the fund allocation for the rehabilitation of the existing Kertapati-Tarahan railroad.

"The delay of the Kertapati-Tanjung Api Api railway had been approved by the House of Representatives (DPR)," he said, saying that the rehabilitation of the Kertapati-Tarahan was considered more urgent because most of its tracks had been too old to operate.

But, he said, that the government promised to carry out the new railway project in 2008 with foreign funding.

Earlier, Spokesman for the directorate general of railway at the ministry of transportation Suprapto said that the construction of the new railway track would be able to boost PTBA's coal production to 30 million tons a year.

The construction of the railway track will also be followed by the construtcion of a coal receiving terminal in Tanjung Api Api port as a supporting coal terminal Tarahan which currently has a capacity of 12 million tons per year.

At present, PTBA, which operates a large mine concession in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra relies on state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia's railway to transport its coal to the Tarahan terminal in Lampung province. (*)