Govt considers buying buses, ships and railways from China
Govt considers buying buses, ships and railways from China
By Johannes Simbolon
SHANGHAI, China (JP): The Indonesian government is considering
buying buses, passenger and cargo ships and railways from China
to improve the country's transportation system, Minister of
Transportation and Telecommunication Agum Gumelar said on Sunday.
Agum told Indonesian reporters, who were visiting Shanghai to
attend a computer exhibition, that the government was interested
in buying China's transportation vehicles because they were much
cheaper and no less sophisticated than those made by European
countries.
He said the government came to an idea of buying
transportation means from China following a recent visit to
Indonesia by China's Vice President Hu Jin Tao.
He said during the visit Hu expressed his government's
willingness to help Indonesia amid the economic crisis.
The Indonesian government, according to Agum, then proposed
China help Indonesia in the transportation sector, pointing out
that most of public buses and passenger and cargo ships being
operated in the country were already too old and need
replacement.
Agum added that the government also planned to build railway
transportation network in Aceh.
"Since we don't have any money to buy the transportation
vehicles. We then proposed a counter-trade payment system," Agum
said.
Agum said the Chinese government had indicated that it could
accept a counter trade payment scheme for the transportation
means and they cited urea fertilizer from Aceh as one of the
commodities that China would procure under such an arrangement.
"They said they need fertilizer which is produced in Aceh,"
Agum said.
He did not however specify why China preferred fertilizer from
Aceh.
Aceh is home to two fertilizer plants, which is respectively
owned by PT ASEAN Fertilizer and PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda.
Agum said Indonesia was also proposing China to help
Indonesian factories to produce buses.
Thus far, Indonesia has bought public buses from various
countries, including Germany, Sweden, Hungary, and India, and
ships from Germany.
Agum arrived in China on Friday and would return to Jakarta on
Monday.
Agum said he had visited several bus, railway factories and
shipyards in Guangzhou and Shanghai.
He planned to meet on Sunday several top officials of the
Chinese governments in Beijing, including the minister of
transportation and minister of finance to further discuss about
the purchase plan and the counter trade payment scheme.