“We have yet to see the Tol Laut program boost participation of local economies and thus, we will need to identify the problems in business, logistics and other sectors,” Wihana Kirana Jaya, the Transportation Ministry's economy and investment senior adviser, said on Oct. 2 at a discussion in Jakarta.

Wihana added that the maritime highway program needed increased participation and integration with local commodities businesses, ports and outlying regions to encourage regular shipments and cut down on distribution costs – the whole point of the "sea toll road" program that President Jokowi announced early in his presidency.

A 2018 study by the 10 November Institute of Technology (ITS) estimates that the program could increase domestic shipping volume to 300,000 tons to contribute Rp 2.5 trillion (US$ 176.2 million) to Rp 3 trillion in “direct impact” on the Indonesian economy.

Wihana said that the program was intended to boost economic growth and equitable development, but the government remained more focused on maritime development in western Indonesia.

To illustrate, he rattled off a list of ports: Jakarta's Tanjung Priok, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Belawan port in Medan and Makassar port in South Sulawesi.

"The [maritime] industry is still centered on the island of Java,” Wihana stressed.

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