The Indonesian government plans to build a railway network on the country's major islands to help speed economic development, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The railway projects would include the expansion of existing networks in Java and Sumatra and the construction of new ones in Kalimantan , Sulawesi and parts of Papua.

The cost of improving the country's railway network would be as high as 11.6 trillion rupiah (1.2 billion U.S. dollars), far beyond the government's ability to pay, reported The Jakarta Post, quoting a senior official.

Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa said some of the projects were already underway in Java and Sumatra .

"In Sumatra , our projects will focus on the improvement of railway networks to support the transportation of coal and other export commodities," Hatta said during a hearing with legislators Tuesday.

He added that in Java the project included the expansion of railway networks in greater Jakarta .

Next would be the construction of a 500-kilometer railway network to link major cities in Kalimantan .

Hatta said that for the project in Kalimantan and the eastern parts of the country, the government would award contracts to private companies.

"According to our estimates, every kilometer of the network will cost 14 billion rupiah (1.5 billion dollars) to build, and there is no way the state budget will be able to cover it," Hatta said.

He said he believed the tender for the projects could be held soon after the amendment of the law on railways.

The amendment of the 1992 Railway Law is expected to open the door to privatization of the nation's railway service, which has long been highly regulated.

The law stipulates that the government is obligated to provide railway infrastructure, including tracks, stations and signaling, as well as operate the entire system. It effectively grants state railway company PT KAI monopoly status.

Source: Xinhua