PTBA?s railway project to start in the second quarter

State coal mining company PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) hopes it will be able begin the construction of the coal railway - which will link the company?s coal mine in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra, to a coal terminal in Tarahan, Lampung, - in the second semester of this year, Kontan reported on Monday.

PTBA?s Corporate Secretary Joko Pramono said last week PTBA and Rajawali Asia Resources had established a joint venture PT Bukit Asam Transpacific Railway (BATR) which would build and operate the railway.

Rajawali Asia controls 90 percent stake in the joint venture with PTBA holds the remaining 10 percent.

Joko said that the joint venture was waiting for the government?s approval of the environmental impact analysis (AMDAL). He hoped that the railway project could be started as soon as the company received the AMDAL approval, hopefully in the second semester.

?With the issuance of the AMDAL approval, we can also begin the land acquisition,? he added.

The construction of the 307-kilometer railway, which which will have the capacity to transport about 25 million tons of coal a year, will cost about US$2 billion or about Rp 19 trillion. A syndication of Chinese banks including China Development Bank, ICBC, Bank of China and Exim Bank have pledged to provide loans worth US$1.3 billion for the railway project. (*)