"President Jokowi instructed us to (ensure) ports in Bangka Belitung to be more productive," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said, according to a press statement received here on Monday.
As a follow-up to the President’s instruction to optimize Bangka Belitung ports, the minister visited Sadai Port on Sunday (July 3, 2022) with Bangka Belitung acting governor Ridwan Djamaluddin and South Bangka district deputy head Debby Vita Dewi, he added.
"To make ports in this region more productive, a collaboration with regional-owned companies and the private sector (is a must)," Sumadi said.
Related news: Singapore, Malaysia target markets for promoting Belitung golf tourism
The visit to the port was meant to help conceive the necessary measures to enhance port infrastructure, including designating which ports would be specialized to serve passenger ships or cargo and logistics, he added.
"Our visit has been planned together earlier to map existing ports in Bangka and Belitung Islands. We will then develop (the ports) to make them more productive," the minister said.
Meanwhile, acting governor Djamaluddin said that improving ports in Bangka Belitung is essential to enhance the movement of principal commodities of the province, including palm and tin, for shipping to other provinces.
"The minister's keyword is productivity. (We must conceive) how to manage existing ports to have good productivity. Therefore, I, at the provincial level, will create integrated planning with cities and districts authorities on port development," he remarked.
Enhancing facilities to ensure the smooth movement of goods is essential, particularly as the province's tin exports rose 95.46 percent to US$378.80 million in April 2022 from US$191.78 million in the year-ago period, according to the local office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
"China remained the main destination for Babel's tin exports," acting chief of the BPS Office in Babel Islands, Reflin Arda, said on Friday (June 3).
Tin exports in April 2022 also showed a 33.23-percent increase compared to US$284.33 million in March 2022, he remarked.
Meanwhile, the province's non-tin exports in April 2022 rose to US$57.60 million from US$31.48 million the previous month.
Related news: Ministries approve Bangka Belitung's integrated tourism master plan
Translator: Aprionis, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
