Indonesia is no rush to make good on its promise to open up to air freight services from other Southeast Asian nations.

The ministry of transportation's director general for air transportation, Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno, told The Jakarta Post recently the proposed open sky policy would not take effect until local air cargo firms were able to withstand competition from foreign carriers.

"It is too early to implement it (the policy). Multilaterally, we have agreed to the concept, but its implementation depends on bilateral agreements ... which are not easy," he said.

Indonesia, along with nine other countries grouped in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), signed in September 2002 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the liberalization of air freight services.

Under the MoU, ASEAN members must open up air routes linking their capital cities to all member cargo companies by December 2008, and then expand the routes to other cities by 2015.

The member countries will be allowed to operate all-cargo services with a maximum load of up to 250 tons per week but without limitations on flight frequencies and aircraft type.

However, the implementation of the policy demands all members ink a bilateral deal.

The liberalization policy falls under the so-called ASEAN single aviation market framework, which is aimed at integrating transport systems in the region by 2015.

However, the latest round of negotiations on the policy, launched in July last year under the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, saw no progress made.

"There have been no bilateral talks yet (since the July meeting) despite its deadline of December this year. There are still many things to consider before we decide to implement (the policy)."

"Our local players are not yet ready to serve internationally. So, if the policy is implemented, I'm afraid it will only benefit foreign players," Budhi said.

PT Republic Express, PT Cardig Air and PT Tri MG are the country's only local air cargo providers.

According to the Central Statistics Agency, the total volume of domestic cargo at the county's five main airportsin Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Medan and Makassarreached 200,432 tons last year, while total international cargo at four of the country's main airports - in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Medanreached 130,478 tons. (dia)

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