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Pelindo III to build cruise, yacht port in Labuan Bajo
State-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo III), which manages port facilities in the central and eastern parts of Indonesia, plans to construct a new terminal at Labuan Bajo port in East Nusa Tenggara dedicated for yachts and cruise ships next year
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tate-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo III), which manages port facilities in the central and eastern parts of Indonesia, plans to construct a new terminal at Labuan Bajo port in East Nusa Tenggara dedicated for yachts and cruise ships next year.
'Tourism potential in East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara is growing and we want to support the development of the area. We want to prepare facilities for an expected increase in traffic in cruise ships and yachts, particularly in Labuan Bajo,' Pelindo III president director Djarwo Surjanto told reporters on Tuesday.
Djarwo said that the firm expected to complete the engineering design and land acquisition this year and begin the construction of the terminal in early 2016.
'We need to acquire at least 50 hectares of land to construct the terminal. The construction will take around two years to complete,' Djarwo said. He was reluctant, however, to reveal the total investment needed to construct the terminal.
According to Djarwo, the company's capital expenditure this year reached Rp 4 trillion (US$308.3 million), which would also be used to finance the preparation of the new terminal's construction.
He said that the firm was also looking for opportunities to develop cruise and yacht terminals in Kupang, the capital city of East Nusa Tenggara.
In 2014, the firm recorded an 11.5 percent increase in cruise ship calls to 126 at the 15 ports it manages across the country, with stops made mostly at Benoa Port in Bali, Lembar Port in Lombok and Tanjung Emas in Central Java.
According to company data, the number of cruise ships making stops at ports it operates is increasing every year thanks to infrastructure development and service improvement.
In 2010, Pelindo III only attracted 57 cruise ships. The figure rose to 76 ships in 2011 before rising year after year with 92 and 116 cruise ships arriving at the firm's ports in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya previously said that the ministry would soon begin to expedite permit-issuance for yachts wanting to enter the country's ports, to boost the country's marine tourism.
He added that the policy would be implemented in stages, from taking three weeks to get a yacht permit to taking one week only with an online one-stop service platform under the management of the Foreign Ministry.
The government is also planning to lengthen the time yacht permits would remain valid, from a period of six months to a whole year of multiple entries.
