Indonesia to produce railway locomotives

Indonesia to produce railway locomotives

JAKARTA (JP): General Electric of the United States will set
up a joint venture with state-owned Indonesian companies to
produce railway locomotives here, an executive says.

Charles "Chuck" E. Dana, a director of PT General Electric
Teknologi Indonesia, a subsidiary of General Electric of the
U.S., was quoted yesterday by the Kompas daily as saying in
Washington that the joint venture would be established with a
paid-up capital of US$8 million.

He said the venture would be 35 percent owned by PT Inka, the
state-owned railway equipment manufacturer; 6.5 percent by both
the state-owned aircraft manufacturer, PT IPTN, and the state-
owned shipbuilding company, PT PAL; 26 percent by General
Electric Teknologi Indonesia; and 32.5 percent by General
Electric.

Dana said the planned joint venture would establish a plant at
Inka's industrial complex in Madiun, East Java.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who was in
Washington for an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum
meeting, said that it was high time Indonesia operated its own
locomotive manufacturing plant to meet domestic demand.

"By 1999, the state railway firm Perumka will need 50 new
locomotives, of which 15 will be constructed next year," he said.

"With a growth of 10 percent a year, Perumka will need at
least 10 to 15 locomotives a year," he added.

Dana said that next year the joint venture would build 15
locomotives of the DC/DC type, equipped with 2,000 horsepower
engines.

He said the planned joint venture is expected to procure some
components from domestic suppliers.(31)