Govt to spend $45m on fishing ports

JAKARTA (JP): The government will spend about US$45 million this year to expand two major fishing ports in Bitung, North Sulawesi, and Tual, Maluku, a minister said here on Wednesday.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said the two fishing ports, among the largest in the country, were still too small to accommodate large fishing ships.

"With the expansion, the government will receive more revenue from the fishing industry," the minister said after addressing a working meeting of the ministry's senior officials.

According to Sarwono, most local and foreign fishing ships operating in eastern Indonesian waters prefer to unload their catches at General Santos Port in the southern Philippines due to the poor service and capacity at the two Indonesian ports.

Untung Wahyono, the director general for fisheries at the ministry, said the government would build a special pier for fishing ships at the Bitung port, which at present also serves passenger ships.

He said the construction of the new pier and its supporting facilities would cost about $33 million.

The project to expand the receiving capacity of the Tual fishing port will cost about $12 million, he added.

Untung said the projects would be financed with loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The expansion projects, which are scheduled to be completed in three years, also will include the construction of infrastructure to allow fishing companies to build processing facilities near the ports.

By April of this year the ministry, in cooperation with JBIC, will complete the renovation of 62 fish landing centers throughout Indonesia, he added. (05)