Gov’t to Speed up Fishing Villages Development, Strengthens Shipbuilding Consolidation

President Prabowo Subianto leads a limited meeting with a number of Red and White Cabinet ministers at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (02/12)

The Government will speed up the construction of Red and White fishing villages and strengthen national fisheries ecosystem through shipbuilding consolidation and downstream industry development.

According to Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, the construction of Red and White fishing villages has shown remarkable progress. For the first phase, the construction will be carried out in 65 locations and is expected to complete by the end of February.

Head of the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Agency (BP BUMN), Dony Oskaria, said that fishing villages are part of the ecosystem managed by state-run blue economy corporation PT. Agrinas Jaladri Nusantara.

“Jaladri will focus on optimizing our marine potentials and enhancing productivity of our fishery industry,” he added.

He went on to say that the development of fishing villages should not stop at the physical aspect, but must also be prepared from a business perspective, including securing offtake for production outputs. Dony also added that strengthening the shipbuilding industry is an important part of this strategy.

He also expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries for its efforts in promoting the growth of this industry.

Shipbuilding consolidation will be managed by state-owned ship builder PT PAL as part of the Government’s effort to increase the national capacity. The consolidation process will be finalized in a near future and is expected to open new job opportunities particularly for graduates of naval architecture and related sectors.

Dony said that PT Agrinas Jaladri will also massively develop downstream industries derived from our fisheries sector which is expected to increase job opportunities. In his view, this policy is part of a shift toward a domestic strength–based economy.

“It is expected that (the policy) will absorb more manpower and return our economic foundation to our own strengths. We have the sea; we have food resources, right? This is what needs to be conveyed to the public as well,” he concluded. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RAS/LW)