Irian Jaya gets subsidy

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Transportation is allocating Rp 13 billion (US$5.7 million) this fiscal year for a transportation subsidy in Irian Jaya, an official said.

Out of that fund, Rp 7 billion will be used for sea a transportation subsidy, Rp 5 billion for air transportation and the remainder for river transportation, head of the ministry's Irian Jaya office, Martono, said, Antara reported in Jayapura on Wednesday.

Martono said that the subsidy is important to help companies in serving remote areas, whose number of passengers and cargo volumes do not support profitability.(31)