Sea Change in Indonesia Shipping Network May Hit Choppy Waters

[Vanhelsing]

Widodo wants Indonesia to become a "global maritime axis".

JAKARTA — With its towering new cranes and wharves that can handle some of the world's biggest ships, Indonesia's main international port has been shaking off its reputation for inefficiency and congestion with a $2.5 billion upgrade.

But the revamp is just the first step in an ambitious drive to overhaul shipping in the country, with experts warning that a scheme to dot the sprawling archipelago with a string of new harbours over the next few years could be heading for choppy waters as it still needs billions of dollars in financing.

President Joko Widodo wants Indonesia to become a "global maritime axis", looking to slash logistics costs as the nation competes with neighbours Vietnam and Thailand to be a major regional manufacturing base for automotive and electronics companies including Toyota Motor Corp and Samsung Electronics.

Indonesia ranked 63rd out of 160 countries last year on the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index, which measures the ease of trade including the timeliness of shipments, customs performance and infrastructure quality.

While the dwell time - how long it takes cargo to move through a port - has dropped to around three days at Jakarta's port over the last few years, experts estimate that it still takes eight days or more at Indonesia's secondary ports.

In comparison, the average dwell time at established maritime hub Singapore is only around a day.

Manufacturers have long criticised Indonesia's shipping system, saying it slows the import of raw materials and the export of finished products.

Full article. www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/06/23/business/23reuters-indonesia-ports.html

 

[Anglian]

Well if the can get rid of the corruption which is endemic at all Indonesian ports, it might work, if not forget it

 

[steveandpenny]

It's a good time for Indonesia to act on this. With the unstable areas such as the Philippines and Korea, indonesia has the opportunity to take some of the market. We will never be competitive with Singapore but we are in a good place to gain market place.

But I agree with Anglinan, that corruption will make it a mote point

 

[Davita]

With Indonesia's connection with the Arab world I'm surprised they haven't signed some deal with DP World who manage nearly all ports worldwide...
http://web.dpworld.com/our-business/marine-terminals/

It was amusing when USA found that Arabs, through acquisition, controlled most of their port infrastructures..they quickly got rid of DP World.

Without foreign help Indonesia doesn't have the managerial skills to operate such envisaged ventures unless some Indonesian diaspora experts return. To enable that will require relaxation of working permits or dual-citizenship.