Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) pressed for vigilance during the 2023 Eid al-Fitr homecoming period since the number of travelers is expected to increase 45 percent to 123 million people, from 86 million in 2022.

"I remind all homecomers to be vigilant during the homecoming since the number of travelers increased, from 86 million to 123 million this year," he remarked while reviewing the readiness of homecoming facilities at Merak Port, Cilegon, Banten, on Tuesday.

The president also urged all parties to carefully calculate the preparations for homecoming.

Jokowi urged relevant ministries and non-ministerial institutions as well as state-owned ferry and port service PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry to make detailed preparations and ensure the readiness of Merak Port ahead of the 2023 Eid homecoming to avoid congestion.

"They have prepared additional dock ports at the Bandar Bakau Jaya and Ciwandan Port to expand passenger capacity, from 34 thousand to 49 thousand," he noted.

The head of state then pressed for optimal operational management at ports, such as by providing a special port for motorbikes, cars, and small vehicles, as well as a special port for heavy vehicles.

"Ports for each vehicle have been prepared. I think this is good," he affirmed.

During last year's Eid homecoming, Jokowi had also reminded related stakeholders regarding traffic congestion on the Cikuasa Bawah and Cikuasa Atas access roads to Merak Port, as well as a lack of ship capacity.

"However, for this year's Eid homecoming, we hope that this will no longer happen," he remarked.

The president also appealed to all ship passengers to order tickets electronically.

"Because last year, those, who had no tickets, created a lot of confusion for the other passengers. For this year's Eid homecoming, every passenger must have a ticket before entering Merak Port," he urged.

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Translator: Indra Arief P, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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