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AKARTA: Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring is aiming for the Palapa Ring fiber-optic project to be completed by 2012, saying the project has been delayed because of financing difficulties.

“The consortium that runs the project is having financing problems, but everything will be completed by 2012,” Tifatul said.

According to Tifatul, the project will be financed by state revenue obtained from the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. “We are now awaiting the order to resume the project. The Finance Ministry has approved the plan,” Tifatul said Wednesday.

He said that the government aimed to raise Rp 1 trillion (US$111 million) in annual revenue from the ICT industry.

The Palapa Ring is an ambitious project that aims to link Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua and eight existing network connections or backhauls through an estimated total 35,280 kilometers of undersea and 21,870 kilometers of underground fiber-optic cables.

The government has created a consortium for the project involving PT Telkom, PT Indosat, PT Exelcomindo Pratama, PT Bakrie Telecom, PT Infokom Elektrindo and PT Powertek Utama Internusa. — JP