Kadin urges to not totally close access at Mahakam River

East Kalimantan chapter of Chamber of Commerce Indonesa (Kadin) has urged Kutai Kartanegara administration to not totally closed access at Mahakam River from November 4-17 as it would impact the overall economic activities in East Kalimantan.

?Especially for coal, if the access at Mahakam river is closed there would be massive demurrage of tugs, barges and vessels. We hope the administration of Kutai Kartanegara would not totally closed the river,? chairman Fauzi A Bahtiar said as quoted by Kaltim Post.

Kutai Kartanegara Regional Government and the collapsed Kartanegara Bridge contractor PT Hutama Karya stated earlier that they decided to close the traffic of Mahakam River to start the physical re-construction of the bridge.

"It is important to close the river during the period for safety reasons, as Hutama Karya will lay down the bridge pylon," Hutama Karya Project Supervisor Idwan Suhendra earlier said during his presentation to the regional government.(*)