Last week’s cancellation of the plan to build the Cilamaya port has not deterred Japan from its intention to build a seaport in Indonesia, Yusron Ihza Mahendra, Indonezia’s Ambassador to Japan was reported by the local Antara News as saying.
Following a meeting with Indonesia’s vice president Jusuf Kalla and the Japanese Kaidanren team, Mahendra said he was confident Japan was still in the game, but would most probably conduct a study prior to moving ahead with the next project.
Japan is interested in building a seaport in Indonesia and turning it into a hub for automotive exports.
Last week, the Indonesian government crossed out the project to build the Cilamaya port in Karawang district, West Java province, as it plans to move the new port further east in search of clear shipping lanes not obstructed by offshore platforms.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Indroyono Susilo said that the government is still looking for a new location eastward from Cilamaya waters, which is dotted with around 80 offshore platforms.
Indroyono said that the primary goal now is to find a ten-kilometer-wide line offering safe passage for commercial vessels.
The government plans to perform a new feasibility study for the new port which, according to Indroyono, should be operational by 2020, and help alleviate congestion at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port.
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World Maritime News Staff