Plans by Indonesia to spend up to $6bn on ports are an important sign of the value it places on infrastructure. The government needs 70tr rupiah ($5.8bn) to expand five major ports in north Sumatra, Jakarta, east Java, south Sulawesi and Papua to serve large vessels and build feeder lines for smaller ports, said coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Soesilo, without giving a timeline the projects.
“We would like to provide good logistics access from Sabang to Merauke," Mr Soesilo said in an interview.
Ports are already improving but unevenly so. “Progress has been most substantial in western Indonesia. In eastern Indonesia, progress has been much more limited,” Henry Sandee, a senior trade specialist with the World Bank told Port Strategy.
It fits into a pattern of improvements such as reducing dwell and waiting times in ports, especially in the western part of Indonesia and strengthening the National Single Window, he added.
Reform though will be tricky, Mr Sandee acknowledged.
The unclear division of tasks between port authorities and terminal operators and overlapping and sometimes competing plans, are among the issues noted.
“The newly established coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs may be a step in the right direction to achieve more coordination,” he said.
