North Sulawesi fishing port project postponed

Yongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post, Manado

Central government has decided to delay indefinitely the multi- billion rupiah Bitung fishing port project in North Sulawesi for reasons that are not yet clear.

Deputy Governor Freddy Hary Sualang recently told The Jakarta Post that the delay was probably due to advice from the Japanese consultants, who said that the fishing port was too small and was located in the wrong place.

"The Japanese consultants' recommendation was very influential because the projects are funded by loans from the Japan International Bank Corporation Association (JIBCA), Freddy reiterated on Friday.

What has prompted questions by many is the fact that then president Abdurrahman Wahid laid the cornerstones for both the fishing port and the extension of Bitung port weeks before he was dismissed from the presidency in July this year.

No one objected to or protested the plan. The argument that the fishing port was too small was also not made, despite the fact that the fishing port project was only 75 meters away from the Bitung port extension project.

Now the Bitung port extension project will continue, but not the fishing port project.

Japanese construction company Ringkai Marubeni, in cooperation with state-owned company PT Adi Karya, is carrying out the Bitung port extension project.

For the first stage, the Bitung port project will receive Rp 160 billion and the fishing port project should have received Rp 10 billion. All the money was from Jibca loans, Freddy said.

Freddy also said, however, that the delay of the fishing port project effectively ended the dispute between the offices of the fisheries and transportation ministries, which had been competing to carry it out.

It is customary in Indonesia that institutions compete with each other to carry out and control multi-billion rupiah projects such as this.

Freddy said that the North Sulawesi provincial administration had found it difficult to decide which of the two should carry out the fishing port project.

"They both had very reasonable and acceptable arguments. But a week ago I was informed that the project had been postponed indefinitely," said Freddy.

Head of the fisheries office Kaunang said that the construction of a fishing port in North Sulawesi was essential to improve fish exports. "Fishing in the province has yet to make any significant progress due to the absence of a good fishing port."

Administrator of the Bitung port Rosman Idris said earlier that the fishing port project would have hampered the loading and unloading process at the existing Bitung port.

"The (fishing port) project would have endangered vessels sailing into Lembeh Bay. Consequently, the fishery port should be moved to another location," Rosman said.

Freddy said he was optimistic that the fishing port project could be moved to another area still within the province.