PwC elected as consultant to establish coal railway project JV

State railway firm PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and state coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam Tbk. (PTBA) have agreed to appoint PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC) as a consultant in studying the concept of the joint venture to boost the capacity of its network for coal transportation, Bisnis reported Thursday.

 

PWC outbid a number of international consulting firms such as Ernst & Young, JP Morgan, KPMG International, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

 

KAI’s director for technique Darmawan Daud said in Jakarta that through the joint venture with PTBA, it would boost the capacity of its railway network for coal transportation from 8.4 million to 18.5 million tons in the next several years.

 

Now, PTBA uses KAI's railway network transport coal from its mines in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra to the coal terminal in Tarahan, Lampung.

 

KAI's president director Ronny Wahyudi earlier said the expansion project with costs estimated at about Rp 3.5 trillion would include the procurement of ten locomotives and 200 wagons. (*)