(dari kiri) Bupati Barru Idrus Syukur, Menhub EE Mangidaan, Menko perekonomian Chairul Tanjung dan Gubernur Sulsel Syahrul Yasin Limpo, saat penekanan tombol Ground breaking (peletakan batu pertama) pembangunan rel kereta api, di Siawung, Barru, Sulsel, 12 agustus 2014. Pembangunan rel kereta diawali dari Barru ke Pangkep, sepanjang 34 kilometer. TEMPO/Iqbal Lubis
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Transportation Minister Evert Erenst Mangindaan said on Tuesday, August 12, 2014, that the railroad construction in Sulawesi marked the new chapter in the history of transportation service. Mangindaan said that it is the first railroad built outside of Java and Sumatra.
The railroad construction, Mangindaan said, is a government’s response in anticipating the economic growth, as well as people and goods mobility in the region. The newly-officiated railroad is a part of Trans-Sulawesi Railways program included in the National Railway Master Plan.
The inauguration of the railroad was also attended by Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung and South Sulawesi Governor.
Julius Adravida Barata, Transportation Ministry’s head of communication center, explained that the railroad will connect Makassar and Parepare. The construction will start from Barru Regency.