S. Sulawesi wants $400m to build railway

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: The South Sulawesi provincial administration is seeking US$400 million (more than Rp 4 trillion) for the construction of a 145-kilometer railway connecting Makassar and Pare-pare starting in 2015 as part of the effort to accelerate economic development in the province.

Local transportation office director Farid Suaib said the development of a railway was essential to spur inter-regency trade in the province.

"We are planning to start the project in 2015. The feasibility study is currently underway," he said after a meeting between local officials and a delegation from China's Hubei province.

He said the Hubei delegation had expressed their commitment to providing technical help for the development of the project.

The leader of the Hubei delegation, Luo Xian Hua, confirmed that his administration was committed to providing experts to help with the project, but said it had yet to decide whether to provide financial aid.

He said the commitment was a follow-on from the two provinces' technical cooperation agreement in the transportation and agriculture fields.

Farid said further that some of the funding for the project would be provided by the state budget, some by the provincial budget, and some by foreign investors. He also expressed the hope that non-binding assistance would be available from international financial institutions.

The two sides also discussed cooperation in the agricultural sector. --JP