W. Java administration to build southern port

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The West Java provincial administration, as part of a grand plan to embark on several infrastructure projects, will build a "modest" international fishing and commercial harbor near Cikalong, Tasikmalaya in the southern part of the province, to help boost economic ties with Australia and other countries.

The port, which will be facing the Indian Ocean, is expected to boost trade of coal and other minerals, textiles, handicrafts and other goods with Darwin, and other Australian cities, the administration announced on Thursday.

At a press conference, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan revealed a plan to commence massive infrastructure projects in the province to help ignite its economy, so it could grow by around 8 percent in the next five years, from the current rate of around 5 percent.

The port, according to Brussels-based consultant PA Asia Ltd. -- which helped the administration in developing the port building plan -- would be built in stages.

Such stages were needed so that the capital and operational cost requirements could be managed within a competitive level and the financing burdens would be acceptable to the province's budget.

The firm further elaborated that to ensure a modern and well- run port that contributes to overall economic development, it needed to be connected to other parts of the Southern region.

Therefore, private investors and donors were invited to participate in just the road development part of the project, excluding the harbor development, it said.

"By developing Cikalong port, the underdeveloped southern region of West Java could be opened up for further development," said PA Asia Ltd. board member Rio D. Praaning Prawira Adiningrat.

Rio, whose grandfather came from Tasikmalaya, was particularly concerned with the fact that the economic development of the Southern part of West Java had historically lacked behind the northern part.

The firm also helps the province prepare a West Java Infrastructure Summit in August, which will mark the offering of some 50 infrastructure projects throughout the province worth Rp 150 trillion.