Makassar New Port Becomes the Greatest Logistic Hub in Eastern Indonesia

Sulawesi – The Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially inaugurated Makassar New Port, South Sulawesi on last Thursday (February 22).

The President highlighted that Makassar New Port is a large port in eastern Indonesia that is expected to streamline logistics costs in Indonesia.

"This port will become a large port in eastern Indonesia that will be able to streamline logistics costs in our country," President Jokowi said during the inauguration.

The Head of State highlighted that a decade ago, logistics costs in Indonesia were at 24 percent as compared to other countries, with 9-12 percent, caused by no integration between ports and industrial areas.

"Now, our logistics costs have dropped by approximately 14 percent. They have dropped a lot, but they are still slightly higher than other countries. This is our collective homework,"

The President then drew attention to the issue of dwelling time, which earlier could reach five to seven days and needed to be improved.

However, this matter has been addressed, and currently, the average dwelling time is below three days.

The capacity of Makassar New Port has been increased by 150 percent, from the original one million TEUs to 2.5 million TEUs per year.

The time for ships to dock at the port has also increased, namely a maximum of 24 hours, from the previous 48 hours.