Indonesia Declares Patimban Seaport a National Strategic Project
The central government of Indonesia has officially declared the Patimban Seaport project in Subang (West Java) a national strategic project through Presidential Decree No. 47/2016, signed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. This declaration implies that the project is regarded a priority project that benefits the economy and society as a whole. The priority status further means that all ministers, government agencies and governors need to support the development of the project.
The decree also mandates Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation to handle the development of the USD $3.1 billion seaport project in collaboration with a port operator. Late last month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe informed Widodo that Japan is eager to be involved in the Patimban seaport project. According to reports circulating in Indonesian media, Belgium is also interested to develop the project. The Presidential Decree also stated that funding for the project may originate from the state or regional budgets, foreign loans or grants, public-private partnerships (PPPs), or other legal sources. Nearly 20 percent of the funding is expected to originate from Indonesia's State Budget.
The Patimban deep seaport replaces the government's previous plan to develop a port in Cilamaya (also in West Java). This plan was cancelled as the location of the port was located too close near an oil and gas block operated by Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (a unit of state-owned energy company Pertamina). Patimban, located some 100 kilometers from Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, was then selected to replace Cilamaya.
The Patimban seaport is envisaged to become an international seaport with a 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) capacity, hence somewhat relieving busy traffic at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port (Indonesia's busiest port that handles around 65 percent of the nation's international trade).