Indonesia - Rajawali Group controlled PT Bukit Asam Transpasific Railway (BATR) is embarking on a billion dollars project to set up a railway line to transport coal from PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) mine. It will transport coal from PTBA’s mines in Bangka Tengah, Tanjung Enim in Soth Sumatra, to Srengsem port in Lampung, Indonesia. which are 307 kilometers apart. The operation is set to start in 2014 / 2015.
Under the deal, BATR will transport 25 million tons per annum of PTBA’s coal for 20 years, BATR president Rudiantara said.
The majority stakeholder of BATR is Rajawali Group, with 80 percent share, while the rest of it equally shared by PTBA and China Railway Group Limited. In addition, Rajawali and PTBA also formed the joint venture firm PT Bukit Asam Bangka (BAB) , where Rajawali owns 35 percent share and PTBA to expand the project.
“The bases of coal infrastructure business are certainty and commitment on the coal produced and transported. Therefore, we are confident that the aforementioned scheme would make BATR runs smoothly,” he said.
BATR is a pure transporter company, taking care of stockpile at the mines, loading system, transportation, unloading system , conveyor belt and the port. In March 2010, BATR signed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and Operator & Maintenance (O&M) contract with China Railway Group Limited. The EPC contract is valued at US$ 1.3 billion while the O&M is US$3.5 billion for 20 years. The China Railway Group Limited is 100 percent owned by China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC).
CREC will build the railway and prepare the train cars, he said.
The Railway would be developed in such a way that the track would be dead straight to make the operational cost more efficient. The railway would also avoid densely populated cities and villages.
The railway would be a single track with the velocity of 100 kilometer an hour, carrying 60-100 cars, with each car transports about 300 tons coal.
BATR currently conducts a detailed study on railway track and land clearance. “We hope to start the construction the railway soon. But the more important thing is when the construction is completed, which is in 2014/2015”.
Land clearance is unlikely to be a problem, as the route is far from residential areas and the population is sparse. The route would pass eight regencies and two provinces.
“Aside from technical factors, it is also important to pay attention on the social issue. We would consider all aspects, so that the project at the end would improve the livelihood of the communities passed by the railway,” he said.
The design for the port in Lampung is underway, as well as the process to obtain the environmental impact assessment (Amdal). The port would be able to accommodate two capsize vessels.
The port specification would be decided once the company finds out about its future clients. So far, the main target of the coal transportation would be the state electricity company, PLN.
“For PLN, perhaps we don’t need to build the port that can accommodate capsize vessel, as panamax or handymax would be enough. The major low rank coal markets so far are only China, India and Indonesia.,”he said.
As for the financing issue, there has been an equity commitment from the shareholders. The company would also discuss the matter with Chinese banks. In June 2010, PTBA corporate secretary Achmad Sudarto told Petromindo.Com that the consortium comprised ICBC China,The Bank of China , Exim bank and China Development Bank are committed to finance the project. The four Chinese banks will provide about $1.05 billion loan for the construction of the railway, he said with the remaining balance will be provided by BATR, he said.
Rajawali Group is controlled by conglomerate Peter Sondakh. Fresh from securing more than $600 million from the sale of its 23.65% shares at cement holding PT Semen Gresik, Rajawali acquired in April 2010 the entire stake of PT Transpasific Railway Infrastructure (TRI). TRI, which has 80 percent stake in BATR, was previously controlled by businessman Suganda Setiadi Kurnia.
Apart from developing the railway project, Rajawali is also embarking in palm oil business. It also controls majority stake of London Stock Exchange-listed firm Archipelago Resources plc, which is developing gold mine in North Sulawesi.
Sumber : Asia Coal Magazine
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