Indonesia's national commuter rail company PT Kerata Commuter Indonesia (KAI Commuter) has ordered 38 new and retrofitted EMUs in a set of three deals worth more than Rp6.8trn ($437m).
The three agreements cover KAI Commuter's procurement of 16 new KCI-SFC120-V series trainsets from Indonesia’s state-owned rolling stock manufacturer PT INKA (Rp3.83trn), 19 retrofitted trainsets from PT INKA (Rp2.23trn), and three trainsets being imported from China’s CRRC Sifang (Rp783bn).
The purchases are part of the company’s plan to reach 2.5 million users per day on its Jabodetabek Commuter Line in Greater Jakarta by 2025, up from a current average of around 880,000 daily users.
Financing for the orders comes from a mix of KAI Commuter’s own loans, shareholder loans from parent company PT KAI, and government support through the State Equity Participation.
KAI Commuter has said that though it had been in discussions with CRRC Cifang Qingdao, another Chinese manufacturer, Japan’s J-TREC and South Korea’s Wojin and Dawonsys, the selection of CRRC Sifang came after the company was able to meet the technical specifications and delivery times required by the operator.
The company said that while J-TREC offered the trains at a lower price, it had proposed changes to the technical and financing recommendations to the original proposal.
The contract marks another notable collaboration between the Indonesian and Chinese rail markets, following significant Chinese investments into projects such as Indonesia’s high-speed rail line between Jakarta and Bandung.
