Pelni to open new route

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): State-owned oceanliner PT Pelayaran Indonesia (Pelni) will link Kupang, West Timor and Darwin, Australia, next May with the 2,000-passenger ship Lambelo.

Pelni's Kupang representative Mugni Giling said here early this week the vessel was now being built in Germany.

Pelni orders most of its vessels from Germany's Jos L. Meyer GmbH & Co., with Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau the usual credit provider.

Giling said Pelni president Roesman Anwar would meet with related officials in Darwin soon to discuss the new service.

He said the new service would boost tourist arrivals to Kupang, particularly from New Zealand and Australia, and hopefully increase business opportunities in Eastern Indonesia. (yac/icn)