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Priok dwelling time could be cut to four days this year
The government hopes that the target of reducing dwelling times at Tanjung Priok Port, Indonesiaâs most important sea gateway, to four days can be achieved before the end of the year, partly due to smoother operations at the Cikarang Dry Port in Bekasi, West Java
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he government hopes that the target of reducing dwelling times at Tanjung Priok Port, Indonesia's most important sea gateway, to four days can be achieved before the end of the year, partly due to smoother operations at the Cikarang Dry Port in Bekasi, West Java.
The Transportation Ministry's director general for sea transportation Bobby Mamahit said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the optimization of Cikarang Dry Port and several integrated container physical inspection places (TPFTs) could help the ministry to achieve Tanjung Priok's dwelling-time target of four days.
'Cikarang Dry Port and the TPFTs optimization are among the main factors that can help the ministry achieve the four-day target soon,' he said after a meeting to re-introduce the Cikarang Dry Port and TPFTs at the Holiday Inn hotel.
He said Tanjung Priok's current average dwelling time was 5.98 days, a decline from 8.84 days last June.
Alongside the optimization the government had also conducted other reforms such as the rearrangement of the servicing process of ships and goods and the addition of more customs-clearance officers to accelerate the target-achievement period, he added.
Cikarang Dry Port's managing director Benny Woenardi said that currently the port was serving around 200 customers, an increase of more than 200 percent from last year.
He said in 2013 the dry port had only had around 70 customers, which consisted of automotive, electronics and fast-moving consumer goods producers.
The dwelling time at Tanjung Priok Port is among the highest in Asia. In comparison, Singapore has a dwelling time of only 1.5 days and Malaysia three days, unloading containers in Thailand takes four to five days.
PT Dayani Garmen Indonesia import staff member Hesti Utami said that she preferred using the dry port's services because they saved time compared to when she used the Tanjung Priok Port services.
'The dwelling time for my imported goods in the dry port is only one day. It is really quick compared to when I used the Tanjung Priok Port services which could take up to seven days,' she said.
The fees, however, are a little higher than at Tanjung Priok Port, but her company is happy to tolerate that.
'What is more important to us is that our company can carry out production on time,' she added.
PT Naltac president director Sugiarto Utomo agreed, saying that the dry port service was much quicker.
With the existence of the dry port, it is logical for the government to set a dwelling time target for Tanjung Priok of four days this year.
'I think the government tactic of promoting the dry port is right. I am quite sure that in the near future it [the dry port] can help to achieve Tanjung Priok's dwelling-time target,' Sugiarto said.
