Indonesian New Port in Subang or Indramayu, Not in Cilamaya
The Indonesian government has scrapped the long-awaited Cilamaya port project in Karawang district, West Java province, and is seeking a better location in Subang or Indramayu.
The Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who visited Cilamaya with several ministers, including Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Susilo and Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, said the new port would be built east of Cilamaya, either in Subang or Indramayu.
The decision followed protest from state oil and gas company Pertamina that shipping activity would hamper oil surveys and operations in that area.
Kalla said after a meeting at office of the Tanjungjaya village chief, the location has to be moved to better guarantee shipping safety and not to hamper Pertamina operation there. Security is vital in shipping and it is even more important factor in gas operation, he said.
The Cilamaya port project was estimated to cost 34.5 trillion IDR.
Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Indroyono Susilo noted that the plan to shift the port eastward has been made to find clear shipping lanes for vessels as Cilamaya waters is dotted with offshore platforms.
"We have to find a ten-kilometer-wide corridor through which vessels can move safely. It’s not merely about oil and gas pipes," Indroyono stated.
There are some 80 offshore platforms in Cilamaya waters and 223 platforms in northwest Java waters. He said construction of the new site was planned for 2017, with calls for tenders to start next year after feasibility studies were concluded.
The development of the Cilamaya Port was meant to support the country’s biggest port, Tanjung Priok.
The government plans to perform a new feasibility study for the new port which, according to Indroyono, should be operational by 2020, and help alleviate congestion at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port.