JBIC pledges cheap loans for railway project

JBIC pledges cheap loans for railway project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) agreed on
Thursday to provide Indonesia with cheap loans amounting to 48.70
billion yen (about US$386.51 million) for education and railway
projects.

JBIC said in a press statement that the agreement for the two
overseas development assistance loans were signed in Tokyo by
Indonesia Ambassador in Tokyo Soemadi Djoko Moerdjono
Brotodiningrat and JBIC governor Kyosuke Shinozawa.

The statement said that 7.67 billion yen would be used for the
Maritime Education and Training Improvement project. The loan
will be provided in the form of "goods and services" and
"consultancy services" each carrying an interest rate of 0.75
percent with a repayment period of 40 years plus a grace period
of 10 years.

The remainder, 41.03 billion yen, would go toward financing
the railway electrification and double-double tracking of the
Java Main Line Project. This loan has similar conditions as the
above except it carries a higher interest rate of 0.95 percent.

The signing of the loan agreement followed similar pledges
made on Wednesday by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and
Germany's Kreditstanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau in loans and grants
worth some $228.6 million.

JBIC said that the first project was aimed at improving
maritime education and training programs in Indonesia to meet
international standards.

"The country is the world's largest archipelago and second
largest supplier of seafarers after the Philippines," the bank
said.

The railway project on the so-called Bekasi Line is aimed at
installing additional double tracks to separate long-distance and
commuter traffic and to electrify the extension of suburban rail
lines to meet the needs of expanding commuting areas.