Indonesia, German shipyard sign contract<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Transportation has signed a contract with
\nGerman shipyard Meyerwerft for the construction and supply of a
\npassenger vessel to be used in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The contract was signed on Wednesday in the presence of
\nMinister of Transportation Agum Gumelar and German Ambassador to
\nIndonesia Dr. Fulda.<\/p>\n
The ferry, which can transport more than 3,000 passengers, is
\nscheduled to be completed by September 2004.<\/p>\n
The German government-owned credit agency, Kreditanstalt fuer
\nWiederaufbau (KfW), will finance the project using soft loan
\nfunds from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation
\nand Development as well as its market funds.<\/p>\n
The project will cost euros 74.6 million and have an interest
\nof 1.8 percent per annum, according to a statement from KfW.<\/p>\n
Meyerwerft was awarded with the supply contract after winning
\na competitive bidding in which four other German shipyards
\nparticipated.<\/p>\n
The project is aimed at improving maritime traffic links
\nbetween the main islands of Sumatra and Java with the eastern
\npart of Indonesia, particularly, Sulawesi and Papua.<\/p>\n
\"With the onset of the economic crisis, sea bound traffic has
\nbecome even more important for Indonesia as nowadays only a small
\nminority of the population can afford expensive airline tickets,\"
\nthe release said.<\/p>\n
KfW noted that between 1997 and 2001, the number of sea
\npassengers in Indonesia increased by more than 75 percent.<\/p>\n
In 2001, state-owned sea transportation firm Pelni transported
\nmore than 10 million passengers. Of that number, more than 95
\npercent used economy class, representing the majority of society,
\nKfW explained.<\/p>\n
The new ferry will be operated by Pelni.<\/p>\n
KfW has financed the previous 22 major vessels and two smaller
\nadditional ferries of Pelni's.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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