13/05/2013 (Jakarta Post) - West Kalimantan Governor Cornelis says that his administration will build and repair roads to benefit business in the province.

“We are planning to build another road that will connect border areas across the province,” Cornelis said on Saturday in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, at a ceremony to open a land export lane for crude palm oil.

Cornelis said that his administration had spent almost Rp 1 trillion [US$103 million] on roads and infrastructure to date.

The administration would soon start work on repairing damaged roads, such as the one near the Tayan River in Sanggau regency, using Rp 506 billion in loans from the Asian Development Bank, according to the governor.

“The winner of the tender has been announced; thus, we are ready to start the reconstruction of the damaged roads,” Cornelius said.

Pratama Susanto, the CEO of palm oil plantation owner PT Paramitra Internusa said that the firm supported the repairs, as many parts of a 700-kilometer road between Pontianak and Badau that the firm used were damaged.

He added that Paramitra, a subsidiary of PT Sinarmas Agribusiness and Food, needed improved infrastructure given its plans to increase production from 40 tons to 80 tons.

Paramitra manages 6,000 of 20,000 hectares allocated for industrial development in West Kalimantan.