REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Industry appreciates the achievement of the state-owned train manufacturing industry, PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA), which exported a train to Sri Lanka with a domestic component level (DCL) of 45 percent.
"The 45 percent DCL is a significant achievement for the train produced domestically. The Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartanto, has assured all support," Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment and Electronics I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to Putu, the Ministry of Industry has always encouraged the program to increase the local content (P3DN) to boost the national industry.
As for the train exports to Sri Lanka, Putu said his ministry was ready to give its recommendations to the Ministry of Finance to obtain a principle payment approval financing according to the National Interest Account (NIA) program.
"We will give our recommendations to the Ministry of Finance, if necessary, for buyer's credit in accordance with NIA," Putu added.
INKA is preparing to export Rail Diesel Electric (KRDE) trains worth US$70 million to Sri Lanka.
"We now have to go in for the bidding. All requirements have been met. We only need support for buyer's credit from the NIA program," informed Mohamad Nur Sodiq, Finance & HRM Director of INKA.
According to Sodiq, Sri Lanka is a new market for INKA in South Asia, as earlier the need for trains in this region was being met by India.
Sodiq added that the Domestic Component Level (DCL) of the trains to be exported to Sri Lanka has reached 45 percent, and now they will really be a representation of Indonesia-made products.
Previously, INKA had successfully exported 150 carriages to Bangladesh in the first phase and will manufacture 250 wagons in the second phase.
Besides Bangladesh, trains produced by INKA are in use in several other countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Australia and the North African region.
"Looking ahead, the company will penetrate Myanmar and Sri Lanka also," assured Sodiq.