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n an attempt to accelerate the connectivity of many regions in the vast archipelago, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has called for the establishment of more maritime highway routes.

Since last year, the government has operated three maritime highway routes that have regular ship and ferry schedules. More routes are expected to be opened this year to ensure the smooth transfer of people and goods.

“We want to be able to go from Tobelo in Maluku to Aceh in Sumatra. If we don’t have the ships, then what should we take?” he was quoted as saying by Antara news agency during the inauguration of five ports in Maluku.

On Wednesday, Jokowi inaugurated five ports that are part of the government’s maritime highway program, initiated to connect eastern Indonesia with large seaports in Java, including Tanjung Priok in Jakarta and Tanjung Perak in Surabaya.

On Tuesday, Jokowi inaugurated Wasior Port in Wondamba Bay, West Papua, which is also part of the government’s maritime highway program.

Currently, three freighters ply the three routes as part of the freight service program, transporting cargo between the two largest ports in Java and a dozen ports in Papua, Maluku and the Riau Islands.

Next year, Jokowi said, the government would open up six more routes, tickets for which would be subsidized so that people could also use the service.

The government has completed the construction and expansion of 27 seaports and four ferry ports and aims to build 68 more ports across Papua, Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi by the end of this year.

Jokowi has set out to reduce the country’s high logistics costs through his maritime highway initiative.

Logistics have been plagued by uncertainties over shipping schedules and a lack of infrastructure in the eastern part of the country.

The goal of the program is to reduce logistics costs from 23.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 19.2 percent by 2019.

Logistics costs account for 24.6 percent of the country’s GDP and are among the highest in the ASEAN region, according to World Bank data.

Meanwhile, lower logistic costs have been recorded in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), after the Mali container terminal in Alor regency and Atapupu regency was opened on April 1. Alor Trade and Industry Agency head Muaz Kamis said Alor was included on maritime highway route 3, which served Tanjung Perak, Kalabahi, Moa, Saumali, Dobo and Merauke.

“Previously, the shipment of containers from Kalabahi to Alor had to go through Kupang first, and it took about one month. With the new terminal and the government’s maritime highway program, shipping time can be cut to 20 days, so the cost can be reduced, too,” he said.

In addition, he said, many agriculture and marine products from Surabaya, East Java, could be directly shipped to Alor through the Mali terminal.

State-owned ship operator PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) intends to introduce shipment services along five new domestic routes by next year to support the maritime highway program.

One of the new routes will connect Tanjung Priok in Jakarta to Biak, Papua, with stops in Makassar (South Sulawesi), Manokwari and Wasior (West Papua), Nabire and Serui (Papua), a total of 4,644 nautical miles for the return trip.

The other route will connect Makassar with Ternate and five other towns in North Maluku, a total of 2,608 nautical miles return.

The firm also hopes to open up three additional routes next year, meaning the total number of Pelni routes will reach nine by 2018.

State port operator PT Pelindo II also recently signed a blanket agreement with fellow state port operator PT Pelindo I to develop ports in the western part of the country and signed an agreement with PT Pelindo IV to develop ports in eastern Indonesia.