Siemens to construct railway in Riau
Siemens to construct railway in Riau
Arya Abhiseka and
Haidir Anwar Tanjung
The Jakarta Post
Pekanbaru
The Riau provincial government plans to allocate Rp 10
trillion (US$1.1 billion) for the construction of a railway
connecting the oil-rich province and neighboring provinces.
Head of the province's investment promotion board Harliyan
Saleh said the 1,350 kilometer-long railway would connect all
regencies in the province and some areas in West and North
Sumatra.
"The project, which will begin to materialize soon, is the
result of the visit by the Riau provincial government to the head
office of Siemens in Germany some time ago," he said.
Meanwhile, Julieta F. Glasmacher of PT Siemens Indonesia told
The Jakarta Post on Thursday that her company, representing the
Siemens' head office in Germany, had recently visited Riau to
look into the possibility of construction.
"At the moment, a feasibility study is still being carried out
by the Riau provincial government," she said.
The initial railway construction will connect the Riau
province's cargo shipping port in Dumai and Rantau Prapat city in
North Sumatra, a stretch of more than 225 kilometers.
Harliyan added that the people of Riau would be immensely
benefited by the establishment of the railway, which would
transport many commodities from local plantations, such as rubber
and palm oil.
"Considering the wide range of plantations that the province
has, rail transportation will be very crucial for the development
of Riau's agriculture, manufacturing and mining," he said.
As the industry grows, the province also expects a large
population growth. The railways can thus be utilized for public
transportation.
"In the future, we plan to use the railroads for passenger
trains," said Harliyan.
In addition, the provincial government of Riau also plans to
build a toll road, connecting Dumai and Pekanbaru, the capital of
Riau.
Siemens has been operating in Indonesia for around 50 years
and is more commonly associated with mobile phones and
electronics.
Aside from building the railroad, Herliyan said that the
German engineering giant had also put forward a bid to establish
a coal-fired power plant in an effort to meet the power demands
in Riau.
Harliyan explained that Riau's demand for power was quite high
as industries are expanding.
"There are still many industries in the province that do not
receive adequate power, while a coal-fired plant is a suitable
option because it costs less than an oil power plant," Herliyan
said.
"Besides, we believe that (the regencies of) Cerenti and
Indragiri Hulu alone still have coal reserves that can generate
about 6,000 megawatts of electricity, which could last for
another century.
"In Rokan Hulu there is also enough coal reserves to produce
about 5,000 megawatts of electricity," Herliyan said.