Land Acquisition Hampers Trans Sulawesi Project
20 August 2014 07:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Transportation Deputy Minister Bambang Susanto stated that land acquisition for Trans Sulawesi railway has only reached 20 km or 14 percent from the total 146 km. “We are waiting for the regional government to solve this problem with the locals,” he told Tempo yesterday.
The South Sulawesi regional government is acquiring a 30-km land in Barru Regency. The railway construction in that area will begin next year after the land acquisition is finished.
According to Bambang, the slow land acquisition delays the completion of all Trans Sulawesi railway. The government also does not want to be reckless in solving the problem with the locals, causing the estimation of railway construction’s completion to be at least 10 years more.
Trans Sulawesi railway construction began on August 8 with three priority tracks which are Makassar-Parepare, Makassar-Takalar-Bulukumba and Manado-Bitung-Gorontalo. All of those tracks are targeted to be finished in 2030. For Makassar-Parepare track, the government will build 23 stations and trains that will travel through Makassar, Maros, Kepulauan, Pangkajene, Barru and Parepare. The budget for this project is Rp10 trillion.
Irman Yasin Limpo, acting chief of South Sulawesi Investment Coordinating Board, said financing of Trans Sulawesi railway uses Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme, which enables the project to be executed quickly as it does not have to wait for funds from the government. “Many investors want to be involved in this project. One of them is from Malaysia,” he said.
YOLANDA ARMINDYA | IIN NURFAHRAENI DEWI PUTRI (MAKASSAR)