Russian Railways to build $1.7 bln coal line in Indonesia

[John Ashworth]

Russian Railways to build $1.7 bln coal line in Indonesia - govt

JAKARTA | Mon Feb 6, 2012 11:10pm EST

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Russia's state railway firm Russian Railways plans to build a train line to transport coal in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, with $1.7 billion of investment for a first phase due to be operating by 2017, Indonesia's government said on Tuesday.

"The first stage of the railway will be meant for coal, but hopefully we can also use it for crude palm oil plantation harvests, rubber and people," said Awang Faroek, the governor of East Kalimantan, at a news conference in Jakarta. (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)