S'pore opens ferry terminal

S'pore opens ferry terminal

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Singapore opened a Singapore $29 million ($20 million) passenger ferry terminal yesterday to cope with growing traffic with neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Tanah Merah terminal near Changi airport will cut traveling time to Indonesia's Riau islands and the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Minister of Communications Mah Bow Tan said.

The terminal complements four regional ferry berths built in 1992 at the Singapore port.

Indonesia's Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto and Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo attended the opening.

Mah said prospects for regional ferry traffic were bright. Since 1990, the number of regional ferry passengers passing through Singapore had grown at 16 percent a year, and this year it expects to handle three million passengers.

The Tanah Merah terminal alone can handle 1.5 million passengers a year, with provision to expand to two million.

The terminal will be the main gateway to the Bintan Beach International Resort and Bintan industrial estate on the Riau islands which Singapore firms are helping to develop.