Central Kalimantan considers building floating coal terminal

The provincial administration of Central Kalimantan province is considering building a floating terminal to support the growing volume of shipment of coal from the province to both local and overseas buyers, Kompas reported on Thursday.

Syahril Tarigan, the head of the mining office at the province, said in Palangkaraya on Wednesday that the floating terminal might be built in a sea area located near the mouth of Kapuas river.

"The area with the depth of more than 18 meters is quite ideal for the site of the floating terminal which is expected to be able to receive a barge with a capacity of up to 100,000 tons," he said.

According to him, the construction of the floating terminal would not only able to save transportation costs but also speed up the delivery time of coal from the province.

At present, the coal from Central Kalimantan is transported to the coal terminal in Pulau Laut, South Kalimantan before being shipped to local and overseas buyers. To get the Pulau Laut coal terminal, the coal transportation should pass through a long journey - about 67km ride by trucks and another 750km trip by a barge to reach the Pulau Laut terminal.

The annual coal production in Central Kaimantan is expected to increase to 20 million tons by the year 2009 from 5 million tons in 2006. (*)