Aceh's railway project to starts next year

Aceh's railway project to starts next year

Antara, Banda Aceh

French rail company SNCF International will start the construction of a railway network connecting Banda Aceh city and Medan in North Sumatra early next year, an official says.

Head of Aceh province's Public Works Office Usman Budiman said the project was expected to be completed in about six years.

"The French government, through the SNCF, will provide funds worth between 600 million (US$747 million) to 1 billion euros to build the railway network from Banda Aceh to Medan," Usman said after a meeting on Monday with the province's council members in Banda Aceh.

He hoped the plan to construct the railway network would be welcomed by the Acehnese.

"The first phase of the construction might be from the Aceh Tamiang-Medan border up to Lhokseumawe, a distance of about 250 kilometers. The goal of the projects is to help speed up economic growth in Aceh," he said.

In January, SNCF chairman and chief executive officer Jean- Pierre Loubinoux signed a memorandum of understanding with Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa to conduct a technical and feasibility study for the project.

Apart from restoring the network connecting Banda Aceh and Medan, the company also explored the possibility of a commuter line in Surabaya.

The study will be funded by the French government in the form of grants worth about 1 million euros for each project.

For the Aceh rail project, the company will focus on restoring the 400-kilometer network stretching from Banda Aceh to Medan. The railroad itself, built by the Dutch colonial administration, survived the Dec. 26 quake and tsunami, which killed over 126,000people in Aceh and devastated most of its infrastructure.

Usman said the railway network was also expected to open up areas that had potential as agriculture or plantation areas as well as to push the development of several areas -- like Kreueng Geukeh in Lhokseumawe and Kuala Langsa in East Aceh -- as ports.

"We hope that in the future, agriculture and plantation commodities can be carried by train before being exported by ships," he said, adding that the presence of a railway system would also reduce traffic jams in the province.

Meanwhile, Loubinoux said the presence of a railway network in Aceh was important to boost its economic development.

"We have conducted a feasibility study. SNCF has agreed to build a railway network in Aceh," he said.

SNCF was established 50 years ago from a merger between several French state rail companies with a number of private firms. The company has been involved in a number of projects in Asia, including Taiwan and South Korea.