Postal firm charters plane

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Pos Indonesia will charter a locally built CN-235 plane to speed up delivery of mail and packages from Makassar to Jayapura, Antara reported on Saturday.

The head of Pos Indonesia's office in the western town of Sorong, Huberus Suprianto, said the company found the services of PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines were inadequate.

"This is done especially to improve our services," Huberus told the news agency.

Postal services to the easternmost province of the country were often delayed because of limited space on Merpati airplanes and transportation facilities, he said.

The company signed an agreement with a local charter plane company, but he did not disclose the name.

CN-235 is built by PT IPTN, the state aircraft manufacturer based in Bandung, West Java.

"We hope with the chartered plane, we could better accommodate the needs of Papua," he said, using the unofficial name of Irian Jaya. (10)