Bengkulu (ANTARA News) – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inspected Pulau Baai seaport in Bengkulu during a working visit to the province on Saturday.

Before making a tour of the seaport, RJ Lino, Director of the port operator PT Pelindo II, briefed the president on the conditions of the port and his companys work plans.

“We also plan to continue dredging the seabed of the ports lane so that they would function optimally,” RJ Lino said.

He said that conditions of the ports shipping lanes were poor in 2007 and the port was not functioning well.

PT Pelindo II then took over the dredging of the port and in 2012 conditions began improving.

“Now, the depth of the lane has reached 13 meters, and Pualu Baai port now has the deepest shipping lane in Sumatras western coast,” he added.

He explained that ships of high tonnage, including cargo ships, now sail into the port.

Besides coal, cargo ships loading vehicles also use the port services. “Four wheel vehicles could now be transported through the port. The number of vehicles could reached 1,500 per month,” he remarked.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono left Jakarta for Bengkulu province on Saturday morning to attend the commemoration of National Press Day on Sunday.

The President and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono left Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta for the capital of Bengkulu province at around 09.00 a.m. local time.

While on Sumatra Island, the President will also symbolically inaugurate an ASEAN journalism education and training center in Palembang, South Sumatra province.

The creation of the ASEAN journalism education and training center was recommended during the General Assembly of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists held in Manila from November 21 to 23, 2013.

Chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Margiono said late last month that 75 journalists from ASEAN member countries will attend the inauguration of the training center.

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/92583/president-inspects-pulau-baai-seaport-in-bengkulu