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Jakarta Post

Govt to make Tanjung Priok transshipment port

The government is looking to make Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta an international transshipment port

Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, May 17, 2018

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Govt to make Tanjung  Priok transshipment port

The government is looking to make Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta an international transshipment port.

The current effort to develop the port is also linked to the government’s ambitious plan to take over the transshipment container market that has so far been controlled by Singapore.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has recently inspected the operation of a direct-call ship measuring 10,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which is operated by France-based shipping company CMA CGM.

The ship, heading to Los Angeles, United States, calls at port once a week.

Jokowi said the 10,000 TEUs ship had already seen a number of loaded and unloaded containers amounting to 4,300 TEUs.

“It means the shipping is done in an efficient way, with a direct call [scheme],” he added recently.

The President said with the current scheme and the big ship, companies exporting their products could save up to US$300 per container.

“It will give a much more competitive edge to our [exported] products compared to the foreign products,” Jokowi added.

The current operation of big vessels in Tanjung Priok is then expected to increase exports.

The ship itself transported footwear, garments and electronic products, among others.

The commodities came from Bitung, North Sulawesi; Medan, North Sumatra and Surabaya, East Java as well as Semarang, Central Java.

As of 2017, Indonesia has seen a $11.8 billion trade surplus, from $9.53 billion in 2016, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data shows.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the aim was to make the shipment of containers from Tanjung Priok cheaper, easier, faster and more transparent.

“So far, there are 3 million [TEUs containers] that pass through Singapore, and we have taken 800,000 [TEUs of the total figure]. We will keep on taking more.”

The minister said he was eyeing at least 2 million TEUs of transshipment containers that used to pass through Singapore to be diverted to Tanjung Priok.

The government plans to lower the non-tax revenue (PNBP), which shipping lines are usually charged, if the vessel is bigger.

Budi also expected the positive outcome from the CMA CGM operation in Indonesia would also attract other shipping lines to Tanjung Priok.

Meanwhile, state port operator Pelindo II that manages Tanjung Priok Port, said the port was already equipped with facilities for big vessels, such as a 19-meter-deep draft.

Earlier this month, Tanjung Priok Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) also welcomed a 10,600 TEUs mother vessel operated by CMA CGM.

“This is part of Tanjung Priok’s effort to become a transshipment port with facilities for big vessels. It is evidenced by the arrival of 10,000 TEUs vessels,” said Pelindo II president director Elvyn G. Masassya.

He added that he expected ships of 14,000 TEUs, originating from the US, to dock at Tanjung Priok in June.

He said he expected Tanjung Priok to become a consolidated cargo station for all of Indonesia’s goods, before exporting the commodities abroad.

So far, Tanjung Priok has seen 6.9 million TEUs in container traffic, with 55 percent being international containers.

“We expect it to increase by 10 percent [this year],” he said.

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