Telecom project in Natuna

Telecom project in Natuna

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned domestic telecommunications
company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), will complete the
development of communication networks in Natuna, Riau, early next
year to support a natural gas liquefaction project there.

"Telkom will have the completed telecommunications
infrastructure in January although the natural gas liquefaction
project on the island will not begin until later," the company's
president, Setyanto P. Santosa, told reporters here yesterday.

He said that Telkom is preparing an integrated
telecommunications infrastructure comprising standard telephone,
international and digital satellite networks.

"We are developing the facilities, including 1,000 telephone
lines, within just five months with an investment of US$1.5
million," he said.

The state oil company, Pertamina, and its contractor, Esso
Natuna Inc., an affiliate of the U.S. Exxon Corp., have finalized
negotiations on the project in Natuna -- about 600 kilometers
northeast of Singapore. The signing of a contract for the US$34
billion project is scheduled to take place next week. (icn)