Land acquisition team for C. Kalimantan coal railway formed

The provincial administration of Central Kalimantan and five regency authorities in the province have agreed to establish a joint committee for the acquisition of land for the construction of a 185-km coal railway linking Puruk Cahu in the north and Bangkuang in the south of the province, Kompas reported on Saturday.

The agreement on the establishment of the committee was signed on Friday by C. Kalimantan governor Agustin Teras Narang and the regents of five regencies including Murung Raya, Barito Selatan, Barito Utara, Barito Timur, and Kapuas.

The team will have the tasks to find the ideal location for the railroad, determine the price for the land acquisition and to ?socialize? the purposes of the railway projects to the local communities.

C. Kalimantan Governor Agustin Teras Narang said that the land to be acquired for the railway would become the assets of the local governments.

The construction of the 185-km railway which will connect Puruk Cahu and Bangkuang is scheduled to begin next year. The construction is scheduled for completion in 2.5 years so that the railway can begin commercial operation in March or April, 2015.

At present, the project is at the stage of ?request for proposal? (RFP). Four companies have met the requirements to join the RFP including PT Itochu-Toll Consortium, Drydocks World LCC-PT MAP Resources Indonesian Consortium, PT Bakrie-SNC Lavalin-Thyssemcrupp Consortium and China Raiwlay Group Limited-PT Mega Guna Ganda Semesta-PT Royal Energy Consortium.(*)