Container terminal in Bitung

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned seaport operator PT Pelindo IV said on Tuesday it expected to complete construction of its container terminal at Bitung port in North Sulawesi by 2003.

Company president Prayitno said the government received a Rp 225 billion (US$30 million) offshore loan for the project, but he did not say who provided the loan.

Pelindo IV operates seaports in East Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

Prayitno was quoted by Antara as saying a number of port service companies had shown interest in the container terminal given its strategic location in the center of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as its proximity to Australia.

The terminal has a designed capacity of 350,000 twenty-feet equivalent units per year and will be constructed on a 4.3- hectare plot of land, Prayitno said, adding the terminal would eventually be expanded to cover a total of 10 hectares. (01)