Train service proposed on Sumatra-Malaysia bridge

JAKARTA (JP): The government has asked the developer of the planned cross-border bridge linking northern Sumatra and Malaysia to incorporate railroad tracks.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said here yesterday that a railroad was essential to fulfill passenger and cargo traffic demands between the two countries.

Developers of the interisland bridge connecting the western part of Java and southern tip of Sumatra should also link the train services in Java and Sumatra.

"A train service is promising," he said during a seminar on rail services. "We have to take the opportunity before it is grabbed by other (foreign) investors."

The president of state-owned railroad company Perumka, Soemino Eko Saputro, said he had proposed that the consortia planning to develop the bridges invite his company to assist in the construction design.

Last August, the government agreed to the construction of a 95-kilometer bridge connecting the Malaysian peninsula and Sumatra.

The bridge will be built by a private consortium of Indonesia- Malaysian firms including PT Malindo Transmadu -- which is partly owned by Siti Hedijati Herijadi Prabowo, Soeharto's second daughter -- and Malaysia's Renong Sdn. Bhd.

The government also approved last year a proposal to build a 60-kilometer bridge linking Java and Sumatra, Indonesia's two most developed and populous islands.

The planned bridge will start in Merak, on the western tip of West Java, and end in the Penengahan district, in the southern part of the Lampung province.

A different developer is also planning another interisland bridge to link Java and Madura Island.

Dhanutirto said yesterday that during the sixth five-year development plan period (Repelita VI), which will end in March 1999, railroad and train issues needed some Rp 2.64 trillion (US$677 million) in investments and funding.

He said the government's schedule was to develop 5,151 kilometers of railroad tracks during Repelita VI. Railroad infrastructure was expected to span 7,660 km by the end of Repelita X.

By the end of Repelita V, train services transported 72.8 million passengers and 15.5 tons of cargo. Last year, the figures had reached 154 million passengers and 17.3 tons of cargo, he said.

Railroad transportation will be responsible for 6.13 percent and 6.91 percent for passenger and cargo traffic, respectively, in Repelita VI. By the end of Repelita X, the figures are expected to reach 15.77 percent for passengers and 20.87 percent for cargo traffic. (icn)