"Therefore, the ports of Sorong in Papua and Bitung in North Sulawesi can become the gateways for some 14 thousand ships operating in Indonesia," Danang said during a discussion on the maritime economic policy here on Wednesday.
He noted that this would, however, increase the traffic on the sea in the eastern Indonesia region.
Besides, he said, the gateway ports will reduce transportation costs for ships with unscheduled voyages and encourage the migration from land transportation to the sea.
Meanwhile, Son Damar, a member of the Indonesian Maritime Council, said that some 40 percent of the world's trade can pass through Indonesian waters.
According to him, four percent of the 10 strategic locations for the worlds trade traffic is in Indonesia. They are the Straits of Sunda, Malacca, Lombok and Makassar.
"The government needs to encourage and support the loading and unloading of goods at the port and procure more vessels to encourage the development of the maritime sector," he said.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
