RI and Malaysia to build container port

RI and Malaysia to build container port

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia wants to jointly develop a one-
billion-dollar container port with Indonesia in the Batam tourist
island off Indonesia, officials said yesterday.

The proposed port would be able to handle up to 20 million
containers, general cargo and petrochemicals annually and serve
as a catalyst for the development of Batam, they said.

Batam was linked in a three-way growth triangle with
Malaysia's southern Johore state and Singapore as part of efforts
under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pool
resources for mutual benefit.

Apart from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, ASEAN comprises
Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines.

"This is a major project with good potential not only for the
two parties (Malaysia and Singapore) but also the growth
triangle," Muhyiddin Yassin, chief minister of Johore, told
reporters.

Muhyiddin said Johore state government officials would visit
Batam soon to study the economic viability of the 2.5 billion
ringgit (one billion U.S. dollars) project. He did not say if
Singapore would be invited into the venture.

Indonesian Research and Technology Minister B.J. Habibie,
during a one-day visit Tuesday to Johore, had expressed
confidence that the proposed port would play a key role in the
development of Batam, Johore officials said.