Indonesian State Firm PT Inka Still Produces Trains Amid Covid-19

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka) will complete its two projects producing 200 passenger trains and train cars for VIP this year, said a company executive on August 2.

Senior Manager Bambang Ramadhiarto, who is in charge of the state-owned enterprise assistance program, corporate social responsibility, and stakeholder relationship, said that PT Inka has set the target of completing the passenger trains under the cooperation with Bangladesh.

The cooperation in the railroad development project in Bangladesh is still ongoing and there are still many opportunities to build railroad facilities and infrastructure.

“In its railroad sector, Bangladesh is currently undergoing a major development to build more infrastructure, new tracks, and electrification system in several areas,” Bambang told Kontan on August 2.

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“The development is also seen in its investment in passenger train facilities and commuter lines,” he added.

However, he did not elaborate on the total investment of the project.

In 2019 PT Inka received three major railroad projects which will continue this year. The projects comprise the cooperation with Indonesia’s railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), the Philippines, and Bangladesh, he said.

Under the cooperation with PT KAI, PT Inka is working on 31 train sets or 186 train cars that will be used for the light rail transit (LRT) system in Jakarta and its vicinity. Two LRT train sets have been completed and have already been sent to the Cibubur station.

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With Bangladesh, PT Inka has completed and delivered 114 out of 200 passenger trains under the project.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has placed orders for six diesel multiple unit trains (DMU), three locomotives, and 15 passenger trains with a total contract value of 792 billion rupiahs ($54.1 million). Of this amount, about $26.4 million is the total contract for three locomotives and 15 passenger trains.

Two of the four DMU were delivered in December 2019, while the two others were scheduled for delivery at the end of July 2020.

Stiff foreign competition with other train makers is among the challenges that PT Inka is currently facing. “Regarding obstacles, we have to compete with China, Korea, and India. They mainly use the G2G [government to government] scheme with incentives,” said Bambang.

He also mentioned that the company is planning to enter Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to build railroad infrastructure.

“PT Inka will use the consortium scheme for collaboration in a work package comprising infrastructure and facility building in the Congo project,” said Bambang.

“As for Zambia, PT Inka aims to offer its electro-diesel locomotives,” he added.

(Writer: Amalia Nur Fitri | Editor: Sakina Rakhma Diah Setiawan)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/08/03/151840126/ada-pandemi-pesanan-kereta-api-inka-dari-luar-negeri-terus-melaju.