Govt to procure 81,000 fishing ships in 5 years
Govt to procure 81,000 fishing ships in 5 years
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs investments of at least Rp 8.8 trillion (US$4.09 billion) for the procurement of 81,069 fishing vessels in the next five years, says a minister.
Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharrsjah said yesterday that around Rp 6.4 trillion of the total investment requirement is expected to come from foreign investors and another Rp 2.4 trillion from local companies.
He said fishing vessels with a tonnage capacity ranging from 30 tons to 600 tons will be procured from local and foreign shipbuilding companies.
"The government, in its initial step to facilitate the procurement process, is currently drafting a new ruling to ease the restriction in the importation of fishing ships," the minister told Commission IV of the House of Representatives.
The importation of fishing vessels is still restricted to protect the local shipbuilding industry.
The planned ruling, the minister said, will allow local fishing companies to import fishing vessels under certain conditions. The imported ships, for example, must be made of steel and importers have to procure one fishing vessel from local shipbuilders for each five imported ships.
"Besides easing the import restriction, the government will also introduce investment, capital and tax incentives for local builders of fishing vessels," the minister told members of the commission, which overseas agriculture and forestry activities.
Foreign
Sjarifudin said that foreign fishing companies, which at present operate in Indonesian waters under a licensing system, will be allowed to partake in joint operations with local companies to further encourage investment in the marine sector.
"At least three state fishery companies have expressed their intention to form joint ventures with foreign companies," he said.
The magnitude of Indonesian marine resource is estimated to reach 6.7 million tons per annum, with around 4.4 million tons coming from regional waters and the remaining 2.3 million tons from the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), around 200 nautical miles off the coast.
Indonesia is producing less than the full potential partly due to the lack of fishing fleets. In 1992, for example, the country's total sea fish production accounted for only 40 percent of the estimated potential.
The minister said that the number of fishing fleets totaled around 359,982 ships in 1992, with 2,837 operating in the EEZ areas near the Malacca Straits, Natuna Sea, Arafura Sea and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. (hen)