Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi attended the handover ceremony on Friday, located at the port in Subang, West Java.

“On behalf of the government, I would like to congratulate PPI as the operator of Patimban Port under the government-to-business cooperation [KPBU] scheme,” he said during the event.

Also attending the event were House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Rahmat Gobel, PPI president commissioner Chairul Tanjung, PPI commissioner Chairal Tanjung, representatives from JICA, Toyota Tsuho Corporation, as well as officials from the Transportation Ministry.

After the formal handover, Patimban Port processed its first export of 1,209 vehicles to the Philippines using the 27,286 gross ton (GT) Liberian ship MV Fujitrans. The ship, which had been docked at the port since Thursday, carried 84 vehicles imported from Japan, and departed at 8 p.m. on Friday evening.

According to Budi, the development of Patimban Port was carried out on the instructions of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to increase the national logistics index, as well as collaborating with Tanjung Priok Port to serve as a new and competitive hub in Southeast Asia.

“This is also a symbol of cooperation between Indonesia and Japan. It is hoped that the collaboration between PPI and Toyota Tsusho will be able to improve the vehicle import-export service, to become more competitive in the future,” he said, adding that he hoped the national automotive industry would be able to make good use of the port.

“Together, let us improve the competitiveness of the national logistics through Patimban Port.”

Aside from vehicle imports and exports, the government also intends Patimban Port to serve as a motor for the economy, including MSMEs, agriculture and the creative industry sector so that local products will be able to compete on a global scale.

During the same event, PPI president director Fuad Rizal said that the company was now in charge of the port’s operations. Since Dec. 16, he explained, PPI has officially worked with PT Patimban Car Terminal to operate the car terminal.

Kenji Kanasugi, the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, said that the Patimban Port project was a clear indicator of Japan’s commitment to participating in Indonesia’s infrastructure development through the KPBU scheme.

Meanwhile, Subang Regent H. Ruhimat said the people of Subang welcomed Patimban Port, which they hope will have a positive impact on the surrounding region’s economic growth.

Patimban Port is one of the strategic national projects (PSN) that have an important role in the economic growth of West Java, as well as the country. The port will become the first phase of a new industrial and city development in the province named Rebana (Cirebon, Subang, Patimban and Kertajati) Metropolitan, which covers six regencies and the city of Cirebon. The heart of the development will be centered on Patimban Port and Kertajati Airport.

Starting construction in 2018, Patimban Port is in Phase 1-2 until 2023, which includes the construction of a 3.75 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container port, a car terminal with a capacity of 600,000 completely built up (CBU) units, and a 200-meter roll-on/roll-off terminal.

The port’s facilities include container docks (421.025m x 34.2m), vehicle docks (308.6m x 33m), trestle extension (333.1m), vehicle storage area (218.000 CBU capacity), stacking yard container (250,000 TEUs capacity), reclamation area (60 hectares), dredging pond (10m depth), port road and administrative buildings.

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