Tanjung Priok Port Is Still Far From Efficient

Tanjung Priok Port Is Still Far From Efficient

Tanjung Priok Port Authority Office’s Main Hall, which is not too spacious, was crowded by tens of port stakeholder representatives on Friday (1/16).

Even though the hall is not spacious, it did not decrease the enthusiasm of the port stakeholders to attend Tanjung Priok Port Authority Port Head position handover fro Wahyu Widayat to Bay M. Hasani.

Bay actually is not a new person in Tanjung Priok Port. Before he works in some ports outside Java, Bay also used to serve as Tanjung Priok Port Authority’s Head for Maritime Transportation. Meanwhile, the previous official, Wahyu Widayat, was replaced by Transportation Ministry to serve as Surabaya Tanjung Perak Port Authority Office Head.

The participants’ enthusiasm to follow the event was also seen outside Tanjung Priok Port Authority Office.

Stakeholders’ enthusiasm in Tanjung Priok toward Bay’s leadership is reasonable since great expectation to lower logistic cost must be initiated from Tanjung Priok as national economy gates.

“I have three dreams to be realized together in Tanjung Priok Port along with the government’s vision to implement sea highway and maritime axis programs to realize logistic efficiency,” Bay said.

Those three dreams were delivered frankly to all stakeholders attending the event. First, Tanjung Priok Port must be secured and tidy since more than 65% of national economic activities related with commodity distribution are held in Tanjung Priok Port.

Second, container and commodity distribution from and to Tanjung Priok must be ensured and guaranteed so business activities at the port are not disrupted. Third, logistic cost in Tanjung Priok Port must be lowered by evaluating port service rates.

What he dreams is not overrated since President Joko Widodo has implemented maritime axis and sea highway concepts so Indonesia can be equal with other countries at the world especially in terms of logistic costs.

Jokowi’s governmental vision to lower high logistic cost is still announced until now since Indonesia’s logistic cost contributes for 24.6% of gross domestic products (GDP).

Compared to other Asian countries, Indonesia’s logistic cost is the highest. The greatest portion of logistic cost components is mainly sparked by low infrastructure so inventory stock gets expensive and the domination of land transportation cost up to 10-fold expensive than maritime transportation.

On the other hand, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) II or Indonesian Port Corporation (IPC) also implements several investment efforts to realize Tanjung Priok Port modernization.

The investment aims to make Tanjung Priok Port a gateway for commodity distribution in Indonesia and within the last five years, it has disbursed IDR 2 trillion investment to modernize ports.

CEO of PT Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok, IPC’s subsidiary, Ari Henryanto, said the disbursed investment at sea comprises escalation and dredging of several berths and road facilities.

Those projects are the escalation of Jalan Nusantara I, dredging and enhancement of Berth 001-004, enhancement and dredging of North Berth 004, dredging and enhancement of Berth 111-113, enhancement and dredging of TBB export berth, enhancement and improvement of Berth 301, 302, and other berths.

In land, Ari continued his office has enhanced and improved dozens of container yards, enhanced and escalated North Glorius Export Container Yard, as well as enhanced and escalated Glorius Export Container Yard.

For 2015 budget, he continued, his office plans for IDR 1 trillion investment to dredge berth and to enhance Yard 209 L-210-211, to construct Pacific Paint Export Container Yard, to construct RMGC lane of Yard 109-110, to procure eight Telescopic Coils, to enhance and to escalate South 005 Container Yard, as well as to enhance and to escalate Glorius Export Container Yard.

Moreover, vessel, equipment, facility installation, as well as road and building will also be procured. “Therefore, we must be able to utilize the existing chance optimally by revising the existing weaknesses to modernize Tanjung Priok Port,” he said.

In supporting Tanjung Priok Port modernization, some strategic efforts have been conducted including the re-arrangement of Terminal 2 Tanjung Priok serving domestic containers and international breakbulk and Terminal 3 Tanjung Priok serving domestic and international containers.

Moreover, yard re-arrangement occurs in Line 2 as a terminal backup. Berth dredging and enhancement with -12 meters LWS target are conducted for Terminal 2 and 3 while for Terminal 1, the target is -10 meters LWS.

In terms of soft infrastructures, Tanjung Priok Port has implemented Terminal Operating System (TOS), Auto Gate Terminal, single billing and e-payment system, regulation over rights and obligations related with overbrengen connected with IT system.

Employer’s Expectation

However, employer’s expectation in Tanjung Priok Port cannot be abandoned to synchronize it with the investment disbursed by IPC in Tanjung Priok Port.

Jakarta Indonesia Logistic and Forwarder Association (ALFI) Regional Secretary, Adil Karim, said many tasks have been completed by Tanjung Priok Port Authority.

According to him, the greatest logistic cost hike in Tanjung Priok Port is caused by messy regulations over the activities in Tanjung Priok Container Physical Inspection (TPFT). Moreover, employers also complain over stevedoring sharing uncertainty between Pelindo II and selected stevedoring firms (PBM) in Tanjung Priok Port.

Adil also expected Bay’s role as Tanjung Priok Port Authority Head.

Similar thing was also delivered by Indonesian Importer Association (Ginsi)’s Chairman for Trade and Customs, Subandi.

The Jakarta Representative House Member from National Democratic Party said there are three main issues in terms of operational issue to be settled in Tanjung Priok Port.

First, there are regulations boosting direct commodity stevedoring activity for breakbulk so commodity owners are not imposed with high storage cost.

Second, Tanjung Priok customs areas must be merged into temporary storing location (TPS) so there will be no overbrengen cost. Third, high port cost for loading/to target port (OPP/OPT) in Tanjung Priok Port must be evaluated.

Various hopes from employers to Tanjung Priok Port must be accommodated by Tanjung Priok Port Authority so logistic modernization and efficiency in the biggest Indonesian port are not merely dreams. (Bisnis Indonesia)