President Jokowi Inaugurates Makassar New Port in S. Sulawesi

President Jokowi during the Inauguration of the Makassar New Port in Makassar city, South Sulawesi province, Thursday (02/22) (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Thursday (02/22) inaugurated the Makassar New Port (MNP) in South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar.

The President expressed belief that the port will be the most prominent logistics hub in Eastern Indonesia, increasing logistics cost efficiency.

The President added that international trade shows fierce competition; thus, it is essential to focus on increasing efficiency to win the competition.

“Those who have good efficiency are the ones who win the competition. They are the ones who will win the competition,” he said, adding that logistics costs in Indonesia were still at 24 percent ten years ago given that the locations between ports, industrial areas, and factories were not integrated.

Today, President Jokowi continued, logistics costs in Indonesia have now dropped to 14 percent and although the figure is still higher than that of other countries, the President expressed belief that the port built with an investment value of Rp5.4 trillion will help reduce logistics costs in the country.

“Makassar New Port is the second largest port after Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta. With the depth of 16 meters, it is one of the deepest ports, suitable for large ships to dock and transport containers,” he added.

President Jokowi also expressed his appreciation for the shorter dwelling time in Indonesian ports, which has decreased from seven days to below three days.

By inaugurating the new port with a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs, the President expressed hope that the port can compete with other ports in other countries.

“This is our strength – our potential that we have to continue improving so that our competitiveness will be better than other countries,” he remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/UN) (AP/EP)