VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

African countries began to see the railway industry as a solution to mass transportation and means of transporting goods, as well as a medium for increasing intra-African trade. The current situation opens opportunities for Indonesian industries to enter and participate in development in Africa. This was conveyed by the Indonesian Ambassador in Pretoria, Salman Al Farisi, welcoming the participation of the State Owned Enterprises, PT INKA (Persero), at the "Africa Rail" Exhibition which took place in Johannesburg, June 19-20 2019.

Africa Rail is the largest railway exhibition in Africa. At the exhibition which has entered its 22nd implementation year, there are at least 130 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors including decision makers, operators, regulators, and officials in the procurement of railways from various countries. Besides PT. INKA, internationally renowned companies in the industry and railroad components participating in Africa Rail include CRRC Corporation Limited, Oracle Construction and Engineering, Voith Transnet, GE, Progress Rail, KNORR, and Luchini. While operators including Procurement Teams present include Botswana Railways, DRC, Ghana Railways, TransNamib and Uganda Railways. The presence of PT INKA as an effort to penetrate the wide open African market into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

With the ratification of AfCFTA documents by at least 22 African countries at the end of May 2019, AfCFTA officially applies in the African region. Under this Free Trade Pact, African countries are committed to cutting tariff barriers by 90% on various types of goods with the aim of increasing intra-African trade. At the same time, African Union (AU) as a regional organization in charge of AfCFTA, also launched the AU 2040 Vision for the railway revitalization program in Africa. Through Vision 2040, a road map was launched as an effort to overcome various gaps in the inequality of connectivity of African countries, including the creation of a network of high-speed railways that connects all African capitals and commercial centers on the continent.

PT INKA (Persero) 's Corporate Communication, Hartono, expressed the desire of PT INKA to raise more Indonesian flags in the African region. Amid the dynamics of competition between railroad manufacturers by various countries, PT INKA offers reliable quality products and after-sales services.

"The presence of PT INKA for the first time at the Africa Rail exhibition is expected to open the door for the next opportunity, after we succeeded in exporting trains to Bangladesh, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia," Hartono said on the sidelines of the exhibition. Furthermore, it was said that among the advantages of PT INKA's after-sales service which was always put forward was the provision of experts for buyers so as to ensure the operationalization of the products well, empowerment of local human resources, and the existence of long-term technology transfer.

During the exhibition, in order to explore the market and develop cooperation, the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria bridged the PT INKA meeting with the South African company Transnet and the PRASA train operator. Both Transnet and PRASA expressed interest in finding out more about PT INKA products and it is hoped that follow-up talks will occur. PT. INKA has also communicated with several companies related to the possibility of railway development cooperation in Africa including Mozambique, Nigeria, Botswana and Zambia.

The Indonesian government continues to intensify efforts to penetrate non-traditional markets, including Africa. In the railway industry, the Indonesia Railway Development Consortium (IRDC) has been formed which consists of several related BUMNs such as PT. INKA, PT Waskita Karya, PT. LEN and PT. KAI. The consortium is expected to fly the Indonesian flag, becoming a one-step solution. Together with IRDC, PT INKA seeks to get the Indonesian railway product development market through the provision of railway facilities and the development of infrastructure including the construction of infrastructure, operations, maintenance and the provision of funding solution packages.

The success of PT INKA in producing and marketing railroad products made the company continue to expand its production capacity by building new factories, including in Banyuwangi. Construction of new production facilities is expected to be able to meet the needs of railroad facilities in the wider foreign market. The choice of location in Banyuwangi is done by considering the ease of access to the port and the availability of labor that will support the operationalization of the company. (Kemenlu-Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria)