Pelindo and West Kalimantan Government Discuss Toll Road Procurement to Support Kijing Port
Pontianak (ANTARA) - Achmad Muchtasyar, Director General of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo), reaffirmed the company’s commitment to accelerating the development of Kijing Port as an economic driver, not only for West Kalimantan but also nationally.
“We regard Kijing as an engine to drive the economy, not only in West Kalimantan, but also nationally. Therefore, this prospect must be supported with essential infrastructure, particularly adequate road access for containers,” said Achmad following a discussion with the West Kalimantan Governor in Pontianak on Friday.
According to him, Kijing Port has significant prospects to support logistics flows and import-export activities, particularly through container services.
However, optimising the port requires support from essential infrastructure, particularly adequate road access for container transport vehicles.
Pelindo, together with the regional government, is endeavouring to find investors to realise the construction of the toll road.
“Alhamdulillah the Governor provides full support. God willing, we can secure an investor to build the toll road to support Kijing Port. The situation is very conducive, and we are optimistic this can proceed smoothly,” said the Pelindo Director General.
To date, proposals to relocate container operations from Dwikora Port in Pontianak have frequently emerged, particularly due to the high potential for congestion and accident risks caused by container truck traffic on city roads.
However, he acknowledged that the existence of a toll road is a prerequisite for the relocation of container traffic to proceed safely and effectively.
“For Kijing Port to be adequate for receiving containers to be transferred, toll road access is essential. Heavy-load container transport vehicles will be safer if they use the toll road. If they go through public roads, not only is access inadequate, but the potential for congestion and accidents is also high,” said Norsan.
He referred to the limitations of this access as a “bottleneck” that must be urgently opened to allow port operations to be maximised.
“It is now operating, but not yet at full capacity. Infrastructure must be completed, and the toll road issue cannot be forced through regular roads because congestion is inevitable,” he said.
West Kalimantan provincial government, together with Pelindo, continues to coordinate to accelerate the realisation of the toll road project through an investment scheme.
He hopes that this infrastructure support can accelerate Kijing Port’s transformation into an international logistics gateway while also reducing the burden of container transport traffic in the Pontianak urban area.