Instead, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has told the Transportation Ministry to prioritise railway projects outside Java, such as the ongoing trans-Sumatra and trans-Sulawesi projects.

The ministry will see Rp3.7 trillion (US$277.2 million) of its original Rp48.4 trillion budget allocated from the 2016 state budget cut on account of an expected tax income shortfall.

“Based on the President’s principal, the Java railway projects should be sacrificed for the ones outside of Java right now,” said Prasetyo Boeditjahjono, the ministry’s director general for railways.

President Jokowi’s administration is prioritising railway construction to improve interconnectivity. The country has 5,196 kilometres of railways, most of which were built under the Dutch colonial government, as railway construction received low priority in the past.

That has discouraged people from travelling on trains, with the total number of rail passengers increasing but only in Greater Jakarta, while in other parts of the archipelago the number has declined. On the other hand, air travel has gained momentum with skyrocketing passenger numbers, according to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data quoted by recent research published by Bank Mandiri.

To up the game in rail transportation, the government aims to build 3,258km of new railway tracks by the end of 2019, which will cost about

Rp233 trillion, covering trans-Sumatra, double-track railways in southern Java, trans-Sulawesi, trans-Kalimantan and trans-Papua.

But the expected drop in state income from taxes against the backdrop of weak global and domestic activities has resulted in the railway plans falling short.

Double-track railway construction projects in the southern Java will be postponed, such as the Madiun-Kedungbanteng and the 76km Kroya-Kutoarjo section. All Java railway projects, except for the 95km Solo-Madiun section, were initially slated to commence this year and finish by at least 2019.

Railway development focus is now on trans-Sumatra and trans-Sulawesi, Prasetyo said, as the trans-Papua railway is also likely to see a groundbreaking delay owing to land procurement issues.

For the trans-Sulawesi megaproject, focus will be placed on the 145km Makassar-Parepare section in South Sulawesi and the Manado-Bitung section in North Sulawesi, which are slated to finish construction by 2018.

“Makassar-Parepare was hampered by land procurement issues, but we aim to have at least half of the railway, 70km, to be connected by 2017,” Prasetyo said, adding that construction had commenced on a 16km section.

The trans-Sulawesi railway project, with six routes spanning 1,513km, will require Rp64.81 trillion. Meanwhile, the trans-Sumatra project, covering 1,520km tracks, is estimated to cost Rp77.6 trillion.

For trans-Sumatra, the government will focus on the Binjai-Besitang and Rantauprapat-Duri-Dumai tracks, as well as the Prabumulih-Kertapati double-track railway, among others.

Minister Ignasius Jonan previously said half of the 80km revitalisation plan for the Binjai-Besitang section had been completed in March.

As for railway construction financing, less than 27 per cent will be covered by the state budget, while the remaining funds will be sought from the private sector.