Six firms submit bids for C. Kalimantan coal railway project

Only six of 15 companies interested to take part in the tender for the development of the 185-kilometers Puruk Cahu -Bangkuang coal railway project in Central Kalimantan, have submitted their bids, Banjarmasin Post reported on Monday.

The six companies are PT Bakrie Indo Infrastructure, a unit of diversified conglomerate Bakrie& Brothers, Japan?s Itochu Corporation, PT Jasa Power Indonesia, a unit of Indonesia-listed energy firm PT Adaro Energy, PT Mega Guna Ganda Semesta, PT Sarida Utama, and PT MAP Resources Consortium, according to head of the Central Kalimantan Provincial Planning and Development Agency (Bappeda) Syahrin Daulay.

?After obtaining inputs from various sources, the governor will select three or four companies, which will then submit their own complete development plan. After that, one would be selected to develop the project,? Syahrin said on Friday.

He said that the construction of the Rp 21 trillion (US$=Rp9,200) project will not use state funds, but would be entirely financed by the winning consortium, which will obtain revenue from the operation of the railway through a revenue sharing mechanism with the government.

?Construction of the project is expected to begin in 2011,? he added.(*)