REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- State owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) said Trans Sumatra railway tracks would be its focus of development in 2015.

Development of connecting railroads between railway tracks in Sumatra already began in 2014, KAI President Director Edi Sukmoro told reporter in a new conference here on Wednesday.

Trans Sumatra already has a number of tracks in operation, but they need to be connected with each other between those in southern and northern Sumatra.

There has been no connecting tracks between Bakaheuni-Tarahan, Palembang-Jambi, Jambi-Pekanbaru, Pekanbaru-Dumai and Dumai-Prapat.

There are already tracks between Tarahan-Lampung in southern Sumatra and Medan and Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra.

Edi said the budget for the construction of the connecting tracks will include Rp2.75 trillion the State Capital Revenue (PMN) already proposed in 2014.

The fund is also to be used for railway development in Kalimantan and revitalization of old railways.

"If the result of the general meeting of shareholders (RUPS) has been signed we would know how much loan fund we would need," he said.

However, PMN would be used mainly for the Trans Sumatra project and fund for Kalimantan railway project and revitalization of old tracks would be expected more from the KAI capital, he said.

Earlier, the transport ministry said the Trans Sumatra project will cost around Rp64 trillion.

The Trans Sumatra track will extend 2,168 kilometers starting from the Sei Mengke special economic zone (KEK) in North Sumatra.

It will be carried out in three phases with the first phase between the Kualanamu airport of Medan and Bandar Tinggi 19 kilometer long as a new track.

The second phase is replacement of the track of Bandar Tinggi-Perlanaan 15 kilometer long and Perlanaan-Gunung Bayu 4.5 kilometers.

The third phase is construction of new tracks 2.95 kilometers by state plantation company PTPN III as the operator of Sei Mangkei KEK.

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