JICT aims to rival Singapore as hub port<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Port operator Jakarta International Container
\nTerminal (JICT) expects to rival Singapore in becoming a world
\nhub for Indonesian routes.<\/p>\n
JICT president Simon Moore said here on Monday that the
\ncompany planned to invest some US$200 million over a period of
\nfour years to expand and upgrade the services of its port in
\nTanjung Priok, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"All the expansion is designed to handle big ships,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Moore said that at present over 60 percent of Indonesian cargo
\nwas being transshipped at the Singapore port, causing yearly
\nopportunity losses of US$100 million to JICT alone.<\/p>\n
\"We're trying to bring the port home,\" Moore told the Post on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
He said at present ships from various Indonesian ports send
\ntheir cargo to Singapore first, where the cargo was being
\ntransferred to bigger vessels, before they ship out to their
\nactual destinations.<\/p>\n
\"Shipping companies must have confidence that their ships can
\nbe handled well,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, shipping companies had two main concerns:
\nthe reliability of a port service and the physical capacity of a
\nport to handle their ships.<\/p>\n
\"All of our expansion plans are designed to handle big ships,\"
\nMoore explained.<\/p>\n
He said the company managed some 90 percent of international
\nshipping companies arriving at Tanjung Priok.<\/p>\n
The company had further invested some US$20 million in new
\nequipment to better serve the shipping companies, he said.<\/p>\n
JICT is 51 percent owned by major port company Hutchison Port
\nHoldings and 41 percent owned by PT. Pelabuhan Indonesia
\n(Pelindo) II.<\/p>\n
Hutchison, Moore said, had an extensive global network that
\nwould benefit the company's marketing efforts to attract foreign
\nshipping companies to use JICT's port service.<\/p>\n
He said JICT would also train their workers at various
\ninternational Hutchison ports to enhance their skills.<\/p>\n
Chief executive of Hutchison Matthew S.K. Chan said that it
\nwas equally important that all JICT workers were committed to the
\naims of the company.<\/p>\n
JICT workers had frequently held strikes over inadequate
\npayments and due to lay-off threats.<\/p>\n
The company, however, reported on Monday that it had issued a
\nwritten guarantee to the workers that they would not be laid off,
\nand also agreed to improve their working conditions.<\/p>\n
Chan said that the company in fact needed additional workers
\nin line with its plan to expand the port.<\/p>\n
However, he said that at present there was no sign of
\nimprovement in the commitment of the workers.<\/p>\n
\"The level of commitment is not very stable,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, a lack of commitment would threaten the
\ncompany's plan to become a world class hub port in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Shipping companies would avoid using JICT's port if the
\nworkers' reliability was questionable.(bkm)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jict-aims-to-rival-singapore-as-hub-port-1447893297",
"image": ""
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