WASHINGTON: After having reached a government target of reducing the average dwell time to less than five days, Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) has been given a new target of three days.
Agung Kuswandono, spokesman of the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, told thejakartapost.com on Friday that JICT had achieved 4.7 days of average dwell time and was preparing new measures to reach the new target. “[Among other strategies] we will operate a port train and activate three ports in Banten,” Agung said.
The port train in Banten only needed minor changes before it could start operation, he said. “Going directly to Surabaya will also be possible. The train has a capacity of 15 containers. We will increase it to 30 containers,” Agung said.
The three ports to be upgraded to international terminals are Ciwandan (owned by Indonesia Port Company), Merak Mas (owned by Sinar Mas Group) and Cigading (owned by Krakatau Steel).“Those ports are natural deepwater ports; big ships can enter them without many modifications,” Agung explained.
On March 21, the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister will hold a consolidation meeting in Banten. Indonesia Port Company, regional governments and companies operating in Banten and neighboring areas will be invited.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has expressed outrage over the country’s stubbornly high port dwell times, which begin from the time a carrier moors at a port to the time its cargo is unloaded and leaves the port, or vice versa. He pointed out that it made the country’s economy inefficient with high logistics costs that ultimately affected prices of goods.
The President has called for a task force to cooperate with related parties in bringing down the dwell time to 4 days. Tanjung Priok Port, which handles around 70 percent of all goods entering the country, experienced dwell times of up to eight days some years ago, delaying shipments and resulting in uncertainty that added to costs.
