Makassar, South Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The Chinese government through Tangsahan Railway Vehicle Co. Ltd. has offered a soft loan to the provincial government of South Sulawesi for the development of railway infrastructure in the region.
Vice General Manager of Tangsahan Railway Vehicle Co. Ltd. Zhen Dawei said here on Tuesday his side was ready to provide up to 80 percent of the budget to be needed by the South Sulawesi provincial government for the development of railway infrastructure in the region.
He said his company had already conducted railway infrastructure development projects in a number of Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Ghana for a train with the fastest speed of 390 kilometer per hour.
He said with regard to Indonesis this was the first offer the company made to the country.
"On average the budget used reaches 100 million euro per one kilometer. The budget to be needed would depend upon the distance to be covered, the number of stations and whether the land is stony or not," he said.
In view of that he said he wished to get complete data regarding the distance, the field, the number of passengers and commodities to be carried from the South Sulawesi provincial government before embarking on a feasibility study.
After meeting with the governor of Sulawesi he said he also planned to meet with the governor of Southwest Sulawesi to collect similar information.
According to plans he would meet with the minister of transportation and head of the Investment Coordinating Board on October 1, 2010.
Based on its plan the company will divide the project into three stages. The first stage will be Makassar, Maros Pangkep, Barru, Pare Pare, Sidrap, Luwu, Belopa, Palopo, North Luwu, East Luwu and Soroako with a length of 700 kilometer.
The second stage covers Pare Pare, Pinrang, Polman, Majene, Mamuju and North Mamuju strecthing for 400 kilometers.
The third stage meanwhile is from North Mamuju, Central Sulawesi, Gorontalo and to North Sulawesi extending as far as 1,000 kilometers.
The Trans-Sulawesi railway is believed to be able to revive the economy of the regions covered by the lanes. He said this was the second visit intended for sounding to follow up the policy of the Chinese government. (*)
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