GOVT TO BUILD MAKASSAR PORT AT RP1.4 TRILLION

Makassar, Aug 5 (ANTARA) - The government will this year improve and smoothen the increasingly limited cargo and passenger handling capacity at Makassar port at a cost of Rp1.4 trillion.

The plan will be implemented in two stages. The first stage will cover land and space procurement and port development on 30 hectares, Head of the South Sulawesi development agency H. Tan Malaka said here Tuesday.

The first stage which will be started in 2009 covers the building of 5,600 meters of land wall, reclamation of 250 meters of land of the port, the building of two kilometers of access road, all of which will cost Rp 800 billion from the State Budget.

The second phase project in 2010 covers the construction of a 260-m container quay, a 60.000 cubic meters CY, and the procurement of container handling equipment all at a cost of Rp600 billion.

"The realization of the mega project will take 1.5 years," he said, adding that the area will also have public and social facilities on 20 ha and 150 ha for commercial businesses.