RAK details E. Kalimantan coal railway plan
Monday, March 23 2009 - 07:16 PM WIB
The license was granted by the Regency of East Kutai in Indonesia to PT Trans Kutai Kencana, an Indonesian Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of RAK Minerals & Metals Investments (RMMI), said a statement as quoted by TradeArabia News Service.
PT Trans Kutai Kencana is the vehicle for a joint venture between PT Kutai Timur Investama, the investment authority of East Kutai Regency and Middle East Coal Private Limited (MEC), an SPV of RAK Investment Authority.
Global engineering firm ARUP has completed the detailed feasibility study (DFS) and engineering design for the 150-km railway line that will connect the district of Muara Wahau to the East Kutai coast in East Kalimantan.
PT Trans Kutai Kencana also will commence development of a coal-loading jetty with mounted conveyors in the coming weeks. Land acquisition of 250 hectares for the terminal has already been completed.
The railway network and the coal-loading jetty infrastructure project is the first initiative under the large-scale socio-economic development partnership between the Government of RAK and the Government of East Kalimantan province in Indonesia.
The government-to-government socio-economic agreement between RAK and East Kalimantan Province was signed recently.
The railway will enable the speedy and cost-effective transport of coal, mined from remote, inaccessible interiors to the coal-loading jetty for easy movement domestically and through to international markets.
Construction is estimated to be completed in roughly 30 months upon land and licenses approval. Parallel activities for the construction of ancillary infrastructure is also currently in the pipeline, said the statement.
Madhu Koneru, managing director of RMMI and vice chairman of MEC stated that the first phase of the development program will involve the commissioning of a 17 million tonnes per year (tpy) coal transportation and handling facility by 2012, while the civil and track work will be completed for a 60 million tpy capacity.
MEC was set up last year to drive investments related to large-scale coal and coal-related infrastructure projects in Indonesia. Headquartered in Singapore, MEC will oversee the construction of the railway and a coal-loading jetty in the province of East Kalimantan.
Koneru shared further updates on the project. ?With the completion of the feasibility study by our technical partners ARUP and KMPG and with the license in place, we are definitely set to move forward and fulfill our commitment to build a sustainable investment in Indonesia.?
ARUP has detailed the railway alignment and transport corridor plan including the requisite foundation infrastructure such as roads and bridges, loading and unloading facilities, terminal and jetty structure, and cargo handling facilities. It has also prepared the procurement costs and construction timetable in close collaboration with consulting firm KMPG, which has developed the overall financial model and risk matrix for the project. (*)