Indonesian, Dutch firms sign port agreement
Indonesian, Dutch firms sign port agreement
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian and Dutch seaport management
corporations signed an agreement on improving the management and
efficiency of Indonesia's seaports here yesterday.
The agreement was signed by S.F. Makalew, Sahlan Asnawi, Frans
Masengi and Sumardi, respectively the top executives of the
Indonesian seaport operators PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I,
PT Pelindo II, PT Pelindo III and PT Pelindo IV, and Pieter
Struijs of the Rotterdam Municipal Port Management.
"With the signing, the collaboration between the Rotterdam and
Indonesian ports takes on a more concrete form, expressing the
intention of the parties to enhance relationships through a
program of technical cooperation," Struijs said.
He said the cooperation is expected to include exchange of
information and consultation on port management, operations and
technology, including electronic data interchange application.
The cooperation will also involve personnel training and the
promotion of the expansion of commercial and industrial
activities within the hinterlands of both parties.
Director General of Sea Transportation Soentoro, who witnessed
the signing of the agreement with Dutch Ambassador P.R. Brouwer,
officially opened a training program for Indonesian seaport
personnel yesterday.
"Port services should be improved in anticipation of the rapid
development of international trade," Soentoro said. "We need to
improve the quality of human resources and we have selected Port
of Rotterdam for cooperation."
Fifty seaport personnel are participating in the first session
of the training program. The participants represent the country's
major seaports, including Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Belawan
port in North Sumatra, Tanjung Perak port in East Java, Makassar
port in South Sulawesi and Tanjung Mas port in Central Java.
The training program is conducted by the Technical and
Managerial Port Assistance Office (TEMPO), a division of the
Rotterdam Municipal Port Management in cooperation with a private
firm.
Rotterdam's port, one of the largest seaports in the world, is
a main gateway to Europe and one of the major players in the
global transportation network. Almost 300 million tons of goods
are handled there annually.
Soentoro said yesterday that Indonesia's major seaports will
operate an integrated service under a new presidential decree,
which is expected to be announced soon.
"Integrated service has actually been introduced in Tanjung
Priok and will be maintained because the port's productivity is
increasing steadily," he said.
The integrated service, introduced in June, offers simplified
vessel berthing procedures. Customers are required to register
only at one window in processing their documents.
The system is expected to reduce the period of container
handling from 10 to six days. (icn)