New $300m port planned for Indonesia's South Sulawesi by 2017New $300m port planned for Indonesia's South Sulawesi by 2017

The port — located near the Flores Sea and expected to be completed in 2017 — would be one of the main ports that could facilitate international shipping, Bantaeng district head Nurdin Abdullah was quoted as saying. Currently, the district  is working to finish the port’s feasibility study, he added.

"This port will be constructed on a 200-hectare land with a big terminal, and it will be integrated with the industrial area,” Nurdin said. “The port will be a place for loading and unloading stuff coming in and out of the industrial area.”

He said two consortia are interested in financing and developing the project. One consortium is made up of Samudera Indonesia and Mitsubishi, both of which are controlled by a regional company that is managing the Bantaeng industrial area, known as Bintang Selatan.

Another consortium includes BTN Power — a subsidiary of BTN Indonesia — China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and a national private company, Terminal Borneo Indonesia.

The Bantaeng government is currently constructing a temporary port on the project site, with help from Huadi Steel, which is building a smelter in the industrial area.