Quick removal of containers encouraged

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has told the Ministry of Transportation to force owners of containers at Tanjung Priok port to remove their containers immediately after arrival to reduce the pile-up.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said yesterday the President had asked him to reduce the congestion at the port's container terminal.

"Many container owners delay picking up their containers from the terminal for as long as six days, as they are only charged a one-day fee. This causes congestion at the terminal," Haryanto said after a meeting with the President.

Existing regulations say imported containers are allowed to stay up to six days at the port with a one-day charge, but from the seventh day owners have to pay a daily parking fee.

Haryanto said that usually only 10 percent of containers were removed on the day they arrive. The number declined to 2 percent on the second day, and 0.9 percent on the third day, he said.

On the fourth day the average container outflow rose to 11.7 percent, while on the fifth day it could reach 61 percent, he said.

The pile-up poses problems for the 596-hectare container terminal's management.

At yesterday's meeting, Haryanto and Jakarta's Governor Surjadi Soedirdja reported to the President on the progress of the reclamation project along the city's North Jakarta coast.

The Tanjung Priok port will be expanded to 1,668 hectares.

The expansion would increase the port's receiving capacity to six million TEUS (twenty feet equivalent units) a year from 1.8 million TEUS, he said.

The port will then be able to handle general cargo of about 170,000 tons a day, he said. (das)