TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian authorities are preparing transportation infrastructures in the Indonesia-East Timor border area to strengthen connectivity and commodity distribution, according to a Ministry of Transportation statement released Thursday, July 21.
The statement said a bus line service will run between Indonesia's Kupang city and East TImor or Timor-Leste's capital city Dili under Indonesia's state-owned public transport operator Damri Public Corporation.
"We've already asked Damri to prepare for the bus operation," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in the statement following his visit to Motaain Cross-Border Post in Atambua in the southern province of East Nusa Tenggara on Wednesday.
East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta visited Indonesia on Tuesday and met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The two leaders signed agreements on cooperation in various areas.
Indonesia has been building an international freight terminal in Motaain in the border area, which is expected to serve as a local center for the movement of goods between the two countries, Sumadi said.
For sea transportation, the minister said the building of Atapupu port has been in progress in the Belu district, under a plan for accommodating larger ships.
"All of these efforts prove the two governments' commitment in maximizing connectivity between us and increasing economic activities in the border area," Sumadi said.
Xinhua
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