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.