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Government kicks off Jakarta-Surabaya cargo ferry route
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Transportation Ministry inspector general Wahyu satrio Utomo (front line, fourth right) kicks off the operation of subsidized long distance cargo ferries from Jakarta to Surabaya at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta on Sunday. (kompas.com/Pramdia Arhando Julianto)
T
he Transportation Ministry kicked off on Sunday the operation of subsidized long distance cargo ferries for the Jakarta-Surabaya route to ease logistics distribution between the two major cities.
Ministry inspector general Wahyu Satrio Utomo said the operation of the ferries would significantly reduce traffic between the two cities, particularly along Java’s northern coast.
“The traffic jams have caused inefficiency,” said Wahyu during the sending-off ceremony for the ships at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta.
He said the operation of the ferries would cut travel time to only 24 hours, compared to 48 hours when the trucks moved through the roads.
Two ferries were operated during the maiden voyage, KM RoRo Prayasti owned by PT Jagad Zamrud Khatulistiwa and KM Ferrindo 5 owned by PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, which have the capacity to transport 160 and 102 trucks, respectively.
The ministry’s land transportation director general, Budi Setiadi, said the government planned to operate four ships for the cargo ferry program, however only two operators were ready in November.
He said he was not aware of the reason behind the failure in the tender. “We probably failed to agree to prices” said Budi on Sunday.
He said the government would hold another tender next year to seek two other ships with the same budget allocation of Rp. 30 billion (US$2.1 million) (jlm/bbn)
