State-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Pelindo III) has adopted a “one-stop service” system to cut dwell time at its Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, East Java in Indonesia.
The move followed a high-profile corruption case over dwell time at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port, according to a report by Antara News.
Last month, police arrested a number of suspects including Foreign Trade Director General Partogi Pangaribuan on graft charges related to dwell time at the port.
Eko Harijadi Budiarto, general manager of Pelindo III, said a number of related divisions of the company formerly occupying separate buildings have been grouped together in one building to save time in processing licenses.
“Banks which were previously located in separate places in Tanjung Perak have also been placed in one location. This is a solution to cut dwelling time,” Eko said yesterday.
He said Pelindo III has also signed a contract for the construction of a flyover linking Teluk Lamong and a toll road to facilitate transport to and from the country’s second largest port.
Earlier, container terminal PT Terminal Petikemas Surabaya said it already took a number of steps to cut dwell time, including a move to modernize loading and unloading equipment to increase productivity.
Moreover, a bigger piling square will be built, and the global positioning system and booking and gate automation system are to be strengthened and expanded, it added.
Current dwell times at ports under Pelindo III vary. It take four days at Tanjung Perak and five days at PT Terminal Petikemas Surabaya, five days at PT Berlian Jasa Terminal Indonesia Surabaya, five days at Terminal Teluk Lamong Surabaya, and five days at Terminal Peti Kemas Semarang.
Considering a port dwell time of five days as too long and too inefficient, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered it cut down to be competitive with the country’s peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
At Tanjung Priok, dwell time is also about five to six days, forcing importers and exporters to pay substantial additional costs to move their cargoes.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said the state-run operator of Tanjung Priok, Pelindo II, had gained from the extra time spent in loading and unloading, reported Antara News.
Following the arrests in August, the government has set up a task force instructed to stamp out the so-called “Mafia” at Tanjung Priok.
The task force is given a month to clean up the port, and Widodo has made special order for the Coordinating Minister to cut dwell time to only three to four days by October.
