Indonesia will help Senegal to possess the necessary equipment and skills in the field of operation and maintenance of freight trains.
Indonesian Ambassador to Dakar Mansyur Pangeran informed Antara in London on Tuesday that Senegal`s interest in the Indonesian railway industry is high.
Senegal is currently in the process of reviving the mode of rail transport that once existed.
Indonesia needs to quickly seize this investment opportunity before other countries, he emphasized.
He added that Senegal is developing two types of railway transport modes: fast trains or called Regional Train Express and freight trains.
The freight railway project is designed to transport mining, agricultural, and food products and to facilitate the flow of goods.
Senegal National Railway Network Development Minister Ndene Sall said Senegal hoped Indonesia would help improve its knowledge and skills in line with its rail sector.
Sall made the statement during a meeting with President Director of PT. INKA Budi Noviantoro in Madiun last weekend.
Ambassador Pangeran said the training of human resources through the transfer of technology is a priority for the successful implementation of the freight trains project in Senegal.
Noviantoro said PT. INKA will provide training programs on train maintenance to Senegal at full cost.
Sall explained that as an initial step, Senegal will purchase 10 railroad locomotives through a third party estimated to arrive in Senegal in early 2019.
Noviantoro remarked that PT. INKA will prepare three locomotives for immediate delivery after obtaining technical specifications from Senegal.
PT. INKA will also soon send a team to Senegal in order to discuss technical specifications and other matters, such as the procurement of rail lines.
Sall also expressed interest to cooperate with PT. WIKA and said that Senegal plans to build a 50-kilometer toll road per year and 15 thousand new housing and apartments. Currently, only six thousand units have been built.
Reported by Zeynita Gibbons
(a014 /INE/o001)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/O001) 17-04-2018 11:46:55
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
