MIRI – The government has already received a preliminary proposal from parties with foreign railway expertise that are interested in undertaking the construction of an ambitious rail project linking the two major Malaysian states and the Indonesian provinces on Borneo island.
Federal Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said that the federal government will finance a ground survey to look into the feasibility of constructing the Trans-Borneo Railway project to link Sarawak and Sabah, and eventually to connect it with Indonesia's Kalimantan provinces.
The feasibility study is targeted to start next year, he said when attending a community programme in the Jepak state constituency today.
If it is implemented, the railway line will probably be the largest in Malaysia and among the longest in Southeast Asia.
A massive economic benefit of the infrastructure would be from the emergence of the new capital city of Indonesia, named Nusantara, in Kalimantan.
It has been reported that it is also envisaged to connect important ports in Borneo.
Hasbi said a working paper on the proposed project has already been drawn up by his ministry.
“This proposal for the Trans-Borneo Railway Project feasibility study has been forwarded to the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department.
“We (Transport Ministry) have also submitted a request to the unit for a budget in order to get this feasibility study carried out in Borneo,” he said.
The matter is now pending approval from the unit.
Once that is given and the budget allocated, the ministry intends to commence the feasibility study on the ground next year, he said
Hasbi, who is also Limbang MP, said the study will involve not just checking out suitable routes to construct the Trans-Borneo Railway network.
“We will also have to check out the potential economic impact that we can benefit from by building such a mega project.
“There will be a series of comprehensive dialogues with the (Borneo) state governments as they too are involved in the project,” he stressed.
On whether the project will involve foreign railway experts, Hasbi said his ministry has already received a preliminary proposal from certain quarters who are interested to take up the study of the mega railway project if approved.
Hasbi likened the proposed Trans-Borneo Railway Project to that of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.
The ECRL involves local companies and their partners from China, he pointed out.
The Trans-Borneo Railway Project, if materialised, will be the first railway project of such a nature on Borneo Island.
Sarawak, Sabah and Kalimantan are connected by land and air links presently. – The Vibes, October 31, 2023
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