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Friday, May 16, 2014

Govt Plans to Open Komodo to Cruise Ships

Jakarta Globe, May 16, 2014

Komodo dragons mating. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Jakarta. East Nusa Tenggara’s provincial tourism agency on Friday said it had appropriated Rp 60 billion ($5.26 million) to build a floating aluminum dock off Komodo that would open the island to cruise ships.

“This year we’ll build a cruise ship dock on Komodo Island,” tourism secretary Wely Rohimone said, as quoted by state-run Antara News Agency. “We’re in the preparation process.”

Wely said the dock would be finished in 2015 and would be built to last for 25 years.  The project, Wely said, would come as part of a broader effort to make Komodo National Park easier to visit.

Komodo and a handful of nearby islands, the only known habitats of the Komodo dragon, are increasingly popular as tourism destinations but remain relatively difficult to access.

The Komodo dragon has been classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as a vulnerable species.

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