Mandiri Sekuritas Adaro : Subsidiary to bid for coal railway project (Thomsonreuters)

Adaro Energy Indonesia's biggest coal producer by market value, has signed up to bid for a tender for a US$1.5bn railway project to transport coal in Kalimantan, Dedy Supriadi Priatna, deputy for infrastructure at the National Planning and Development Agency said on Saturday. The 185-kilometer (115 miles) coal railway will connect Puruk Cahu to Bangkuang in Central Kalimantan. It is the first of four railway projects planned for Central Kalimantan that will eventually stretch about 1,829 kms (1,136 miles) of rail line across the province to link coal mines and ports. Central Kalimantan's coal reserves are estimated at 4.8 billion tonnes. Priatna said that the three biggest investors that plan to bid in the tender are Itochu Corp , China Harbour Engineering Co. and PT Jasa Power Indonesia, a subsidiary of Adaro Energy. "They will face a screening process by a government committee to see their capability to work on the project before we decide which company will get the project," he added. The project is expected to be completed in 2012 and expected to carry 10 Mt a year in the first 10 years. (Thomsonreuters)