The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is currently reviewing a train line construction project at IKN Nusantara, according to reporting from Antara News.
“We are currently studying the construction of a railway line from Balikpapan as well as in the IKN area itself,” Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono said in Tokyo, Friday (10/11/23) adding that when “the president of JICA came to Jakarta, the Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, and I had lunch together to discuss it in Jakarta two weeks ago.
However, there is still a lack of certainty that Japan will conduct a feasibility study for the project, he added.
Head of the IKN Authority has also signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of three potential areas in Balikpapan, Samarinda, and IKN Nusantara, say Antara News.
“Yesterday, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of Japan also said he would complete a review of the development of this area,” he remarked.
The government will build four railway projects in the 2025 to 2029 period: airport trains, urban trains within the Central Government Core Area (KIPP), urban trains within Kalimantan, and intercity.
Antara News report that the Balikpapan-KIPP Urban Train will be 143.33-kilometers long, with a travel time of 88-minutes. Around 125-kilometers of the network will be at ground level, 14.6-kilometers elevated, three kilometers underground and will be able to accommodate as many as 4.5-million passengers by 2040.
The airport train will connect the Sepinggan International Airport with KIPP. The government has prepared two alternative routes.
First, based on the 2021 study, the line will be 65.5-kilometers long, with a travel time of 29.8-minutes, which crosses four stations, with 55.7-kilometers at ground level, 6.8 kilometers elevated, and three kilometers underground.
In 2030, airport train passengers are estimated to reach 3.6-million per year.
The second alternative route will be 44.91-kilometers crossing three stations with a shorter distance, as it follows the right of way (ROW) of the Balikpapan-KIPP toll road.
In 2030, the train is expected to carry 2.5-million passengers per year.
As this infrastructure requires large financing, the Ministry of Transportation plans to use a government and business entity cooperation (KPBU) scheme as well as concessions involving domestic and foreign parties, say Antara News, adding that the Ministry of Transportation’s Directorate General of Railways has proposed a 2024 budget of IDR 9.80-trillion, including support for the IKN train project.
Source: Antara News
Stock photo by László Glatz on Unsplash
