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.