Container terminal in Bitung

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)