Indonesia’s state-owned companies, ministries and institutions will be banned from ordering ships abroad as the country’s shipyards have the capacity to meet the demand, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was reported as saying by the local Antara news agency.
While visiting PT Anggrek Hitam shipyard in Batam, Widodo said that he would ask the state-owned shipping companies, ministries and institutions to create a list of ships needed in the future.
“In Batam there are 104 shipbuilding industries. After returning from here I will gather officials from state-owned companies, the ministry of defence, the ministry of transportation, the ministry of fisheries and marine resources, state-owned oil company PT Pertamina, gas company PN Gas and (order them) to no longer order ships from abroad,” Widodo was reported as saying by Antara.
The shipbuilding industry must be given high priority, Widodo said, as Indonesia has set out to improve connectivity through sea toll road development.
World Maritime News Staff; Image: PT Anggrek Hitam