Indonesia's Java-Sumatra bridge could cost $19 bln - official

JAKARTA, April 26 (Reuters) - One of Indonesia's big-ticket infrastructure projects, a bridge connecting the islands of Java and Sumatra, may cost as much as $19 billion, far more than initially estimated, a planning official said on Monday.

The 30-kilometre-long (18.6 miles) bridge over the Sunda Strait would have a rail line and main road and is intended to improve the transport of commodities, manufactured goods, and workers between the two islands.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year promised to spend $140 billion over five years to develop infrastructure in Southeast Asia's largest economy, in an effort to achieve 7 percent growth by 2014.

The Sunda Strait bridge project is considered controversial because the area is prone to earthquakes.

Local media reported that an early study indicated the Sunda Strait bridge would cost around 100 trillion rupiah ($11.1 billion) but a planning official said the figure would likely be higher.

"In the pre-feasibility level, the cost is forecast at about 170 trillion rupiah. But with more detailed study, the amount could be reduced," said Syahrial Loetan, secretary of the planning agency.

"The project has been included in the public and private financing scheme. That means the financing will be provided by the private sector, while the government will deal with the permits and regulations," Loetan said.

Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands and the difficulty in transporting goods between islands often adds significantly to the costs. ($1=9009 Rupiah) (Reporting by Dicky Kristanto; Editing by Sunanda Creagh)