Bitung's project delayed

JAKARTA (JP): The North Sulawesi administration has appealed to the government not to delay the building of a fishing port in the province's Bitung district.

The head of North Sulawesi Investment Coordinating Office, Wempi Punuh, was quoted by Antara as saying in Manado over the weekend that the province's governor, E.E. Mangindaan, had sent a letter to the National Development Planning Board asking a for a timely construction schedule for the project.

The fishing port was initially planned for the 1997/98 fiscal year but was delayed until next fiscal year for unclear reasons.

The fishing port, which will cost about Rp 80 billion (US$33.2 million), is to be financed by loans from Japan.

The fishing port was important for North Sulawesi's fishing industry, Punuh said.

Only 20 percent of Indonesia's 341,000-square-kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone in the area has been utilized because of poor infrastructure.

Punuh said the port would improve Bitung's fish supply.

Besides fishing, agro-industry, tourism, mining, energy and human resources are North Sulawesi's five prime sectors. (icn)