REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Japan has expressed interest to revitalize Java's northern railway network, an official of the transportation ministry stated on Tuesday.
At a discussion on railway development in Indonesia, Hermanto Dwiatmoko, the director general of railways, revealed that the revitalization would be carried out by increasing the speed of trains operating on the Jakarta-Surabaya route from currently 80 kilometers per hour (km/h) to 150 km/h.
"If trains can run on the Jakarta-Surabaya route at a speed of 150 km/h, then it would be more interesting," he affirmed.
Hermanto earlier remarked that the transportation ministry had offered two projects for funding options: the Trans Sumatra and Trans Sulawesi projects and the revitalization of Java's northern railway network.
"I said if they want to showcase their advanced technology, then they should opt for the revitalization project, and it seems they are interested," he noted.
The government has offered the Trans Sumatra and Trans Sulawesi projects to China, and the country is interested, he revealed.
He said the government had made the offers after the ministry's budget was cut by 10 percent to improve efficiency.
"The budget for 2016 is cut by 10 percent, or some Rp3.7 trillion, from Rp40 trillion," he stated, adding that a decline in taxes and other forms of revenue were among the reasons for the decision.
He pointed out that the cut affected all sectors and not just the railways due to which there was a likelihood of delays in the completion of several projects.
He said projects, including the Trans-Java, Trans-Sumatra, Trans-Sulawesi, Trans-Kalimantan and Trans-Papua, which were scheduled for completion in 2019, may possibly be delayed.
By 2030, the transportation ministry has set a target to develop a 12.1 thousand-km-long railway network covering Java-Bali, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua and a 3.8 thousand-km-long urban railway network.
Until 2019, the Directorate General of Railways has set a target to develop a 3,258-km-long railway network for the Trans-Sumatra, the southern line of Trans-Java, Trans-Kalimantan, Trans-Sulawesi, and Trans-Papua projects.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika