Indonesia needs new lighthouses

Indonesia needs new lighthouses

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, the largest archipelagic nation in
the world, needs 3,283 new lighthouses to ensure the safety of
water transportation across the country.

Director General of Sea Transportation Soentoro said here
yesterday that because Indonesia has not yet been able to build
such facilities by itself, it is opening its doors wide to
foreign investors interested in manufacturing or assembling
lighthouses in the country.

Indonesia currently has 1,752 lighthouses across the
archipelago, of which 1,537 are offshore and only 215 are located
on coasts.

Soentoro said the existing lighthouses serve only 35 percent
of the total needs as the country has many narrow and shallow
straits.

"Look. The market is here. So, I'm glad to hear that SAMTSC-
Gisman of France will open a branch office here. And I'll be
happier still if SAMTSC-Gisman will also build an assembling
plant here," Soentoro said in his speech at the signing of a
contract between SAMTSC-Gisman and PT Gitapurna Satyaprima for
the contraction of 26 lighthouses.

The funding for the lighthouse construction is provided by the
French government in the form of a soft loan of 24.48 million
French francs (US$4.45 million).

Soentoro said the 26 lighthouses will be installed in areas
with high density sea traffic.

Jacques Briand of SAMTSC-Gisman told The Jakarta Post that his
company is interested in investing its money and talents in
Indonesia.

"We have signed a cooperation agreement with the National
Electronics Institute in Bandung, West Java, for the development
of electronic components of lighthouses," Briand said.

He declined to mention the value of the investments.

Briand noted that SAMTSC-Gisman also plans to build steel
structures for lighthouses in Jakarta but has not yet found any
local partner.

France is the second country interested in navigation-
infrastructure investments in the country after Japan, Soentoro
said. "But until now, the Japanese investors have not yet
materialized any projects," he said. (rid)