Lampung Transportation Agency: Panjang Port to Operate Only in Case of Congestion

Bandarlampung (ANTARA) - The Lampung Provincial Transportation Agency states that during the 2026 Lebaran return flow, Panjang Port will be operated if there is a vehicle buildup at various crossing ports. “Panjang Port’s operations are only for emergencies, when other ports are uncontrollably full,” said the Head of the Lampung Provincial Transportation Agency, Bambang Sumbogo, in Bandarlampung on Wednesday. He said that currently, Panjang Port is serving logistics vehicle crossings using Ro-Ro ships owned by PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran (ALP). “In emergency conditions, PT ALP’s Ro-Ro ships can be optimised. Its capacity is around 200 units for trucks alone, while for mixed two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles, the capacity can be 300 units. If all ports are full, we will use this,” he said. He explained that for now, Panjang Port is not being used, as they are still optimising crossing services at Bakauheni Port, Bandar Bakau Jaya Port (BBJ), Wika Beton Port, and Sumber Makmur Abadi Port (SMA). “We will first maximise the ports that are already operational, as in the outbound flow. However, if it is not sufficient during the return flow, then Panjang Port will be operated,” he said. According to him, to keep crossing services at the ports smooth during the return flow, a ‘tiba bongkar muat’ pattern is also being implemented. “To maintain vehicle movement, the ‘tiba bongkar muat’ concept is applied. When the ship arrives, it is filled fully, then upon reaching the destination, it immediately loads again to the original port,” he added. He said that with this pattern, it will save sea travel time of around two hours per trip. “This will also increase the productivity of crossing services. As long as everything is still smooth, we will optimise the operating ports first,” he said.