PT Pelabuhan II, PSA cooperate

JAKARTA (JP): PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II, the company with manages Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port and several other seaports, signed a technical cooperation agreement yesterday with the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) to improve port services and daily operations.

The agreement was signed by Pelabuhan II president A. Harbani and PSA Deputy chief executive officer Goon Lok Loon. The signing was attended by the Ministry of Transportation's director general of sea transportation, Soentoro.

According to a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday, the cooperation agreement is a follow-up of a ministerial meeting of the transportation ministers of the two countries last July which discussed cooperation in the transportation sector, particularly in sea transportation.

The cooperation is expected to increase productivity at Tanjung Priok.

During the first phase of the cooperation, PSA is expected to share its expertise with Pelabuhan II regarding port services and the solving of operational problems, particularly those which are currently faced by Tanjung Priok.

The statement said that PSA was chosen as a partner for cooperation because it has extensive experience in the field and has succeeded in boosting the productivity of its port services.

The management of Tanjung Priok port came under fire earlier this year after its users complained of inefficiencies at the port which, they said, were causing prolonged waiting times of ships docking there.

Foreign shipping lines threatened to impose a "Jakarta Port Congestion Surcharge" to compensate for losses caused by the inefficiency, but later decided to refrain from doing so, adopting a "wait and see" approach, pending further progress under the "crash" reform program being carried out at the port by Pelabuhan II. (pwn)