The plan to transform Indonesia into one of the world’s maritime axes boasting numerous seaports that link the archipelago may need to be revised since some of the proposed port projects are not doable.
The Transportation Ministry of Indonesia said the marine highway program that envisions the development of 24 commercial seaports and more than a thousand non-commercial seaports may have to undergo changes because some aspects of the blueprint are not feasible.
Reports said a number of port projects planned by the National Development Planning Board to create new routes and increase connectivity under the administration’s marine highway plan are posing problems.
The Transportation Ministry’s dredging project and port operation director, Adolf Tambunan, said Cilacap port in Central Java, for instance, is mainly used to ferry oil, while Palangkaraya port is encumbered by a shallow depth.
He said the revisions to the plan will still have to be discussed and can only be finalized once the country’s draft National Medium Term Development Program is finished in January next year.
The ministry is also considering adding new seaports, including Sampit in Central Kalimantan, and Sorong in West Papua, Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra, and Bitung in North Sulawesi as mandated in the National Logistics Blueprint of 2010-2025.
The ambitious IDR700-trillion (US$55.4 billion) marine highway program is part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s scheme to improve the linkages of the archipelagic economy so as to reduce the Southeast Asian country’s high logistics costs that are seen to be a key deterrent to its global competitiveness.
4 short-sea ports to open
In related news, the Transportation Ministry said four new short-sea shipping ports will be launched in January next year.
Short-sea shipping, which usually follows coastlines rather than longer-distance routes crossing oceans, also forms part of President Widodo’s maritime development plan and his efforts to cut logistics expenses.
The four ports are located in Panjang in Lampung, Marunda in Jakarta, Kendal in Central Java, and Paciran in East Java.
Photo courtesy of Pelindo II
