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In a sign that the government’s effort to tout public-private-partnership projects to investors is starting to bear fruit, the National Development Planning Agency said seven companies had passed the pre-qualification stage for a $3 billion power project in Central Java and 10 investors were interested in a $1.5 billion coal rail project in Central Kalimantan.

The two projects are among 100 PPP projects, worth a total of Rp 440 trillion ($48.84 billion), that the government hopes to develop from 2010-14. It has been promoting the PPP projects at the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Public Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development, which ended on Saturday.

The government opened the pre-qualification tender for the 2,000-megawatt Central Java power plant project, in Pemalang, last June. Until now it has given no updates on process to cinching a deal, although, according to media reports, construction is expected to start in August.

Bastary Panji Indra, director in charge of PPPs at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), said on Saturday that seven companies had passed the pre-qualification tender stage. They include China’s Shenhua Energy and a consortium of CNTIC and Guangdong Yudean, Korean Electric Power, Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsubishi, a Mitsui-International Power consortium, and one made up of France’s GDF Suez and Japan’s J Power, he said.

“After having passed the pre-qualification stage, the seven companies now have the right to make an offer,” Bastary said. The winner of the tender process will enter a 25-year power-supply agreement with state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

Dedy Priatna, Bappenas’ deputy head of infrastructure, said 10 investors had “shown great interest” in investing in the $1.5 billion Central Kalimantan coal rail project.

“Of the 10 investors, six have purchased the pre-qualification documents, and the three biggest ones are Japan’s Itochu, China Harbor Engineering and PT Jasa Power Indonesia, a subsidiary of PT Adaro Energy,” Dedy said, adding that the other four investors were scheduled to provide the documents shortly.

The 185-kilometer coal rail project will link Puruk Cahu and Bangkuang and is hoped to boost coal production. Central Kali­mantan is estimated to have coal reserves of 4.8 million tons. Dedy said the project was expected to be completed in 2012.

“The line is expected to carry 10 million tons of coal per annum during the first 10 years of its operation,” he said.

The Puruk Cahu-Bangkuang railway is the first of four proposed sections of new rail line that will eventually stretch 1,829 km across Central Kalimantan to connect coal mines with ports.

Bastary said the government expected to attract Rp 50 trillion of private investment in PPPs this year.

Fauzi Ichsan, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia, said it was not enough for the government just to promote the projects eagerly, but it must also prepare the necessary regulations to support the projects’ feasibility.

“That’s why the progress of many infrastructure projects [offered by the government] seems so slow,” Fauzi said.