Transport Minister Explains Causes of Severe Traffic Jam on Gilimanuk-Ketapang Crossing

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has spoken out on the causes of the traffic jam that occurred at Gilimanuk Port in Bali during the 2026 Lebaran homecoming flow. The Minister explained that the main cause of the congestion on the Gilimanuk-Ketapang crossing was the increased volume of vehicles. Moreover, this year’s Lebaran homecoming flow coincided with Nyepi Day 1948. “One of them is due to the increase in vehicle volume at the Gilimanuk-Ketapang crossing,” said Dudy when met by reporters at the Jasa Marga Toll Command Centre (JMTC) on Wednesday (25/3/2026). However, the primary cause of the density at the Gilimanuk-Ketapang crossing was the continued operation of many three-axle or more trucks during the 2026 Lebaran homecoming period. “The density that occurred in Gilimanuk and Ketapang happened because there were still many three-axle vehicles operating, in addition to the increased vehicle volume ahead of Lebaran 2026,” he continued. Nevertheless, his side, together with the Ministry of Transport apparatus, Korlantas Polri, and related parties, has carried out normalisation in less than 24 hours after the density occurred. “However, we quickly, in less than 24 hours, Alhamdulillah, managed to handle the density that occurred in Gilimanuk,” he added. To alleviate the density at the Gilimanuk-Ketapang crossing, his side has implemented several normalisation measures, starting from operating large-capacity ships, adding the number of operating fleets to 35 ships, optimising the buffer zone area, and applying the load-unload-depart (TBB) system on 25 ships to accelerate the operational cycle. He said that an evaluation is also being conducted to prevent similar incidents from happening again. “But that will be our evaluation material for next year if in its implementation such things are still found,” he explained.