JAMBI TO BUILD OCEAN-GOING SEAPORT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 17 (Antara) - Jambi this year plans to build an ocean-going seaport, which will connect the province with its neighbors to form a golden triangle of economic growth with Singapore and Malaysia.          The ocean-going seaport, which will be built in Ujung Jabung, East Tanjung Jabung District, is expected to be a part of the main sea corridor in Sumatra, as it will connect two other main seaports of Dumai in the Riau province and Tanjung Apiapi in South Sumatra.          "The regional government will commence construction work on the Ujung Jabung seaport. It is expected to boost economic development in Jambi," Haviz Husaini, an assistant to the regional government secretary for development, social and economic affairs stated in Jambi, on Sunday.          He noted that the regional government has begun carrying out land clearance for the construction of the Rp140 billion worth seaport. It will sit on a 4.2 thousand hectare plot of land.          Last month, the Ministry of Transportation assured the commencement of the development of the Ujung Jabung seaport in Jambi's East Tanjung Jabung district. Transportation Minister E.E. Mangindaan was quoted by Buisnis.com as saying that the construction of the Ujung Jabung seaport should have commenced last year.            The minister reported that the construction was postponed as the disbursement of funds was delayed. However, he assured that the project, which is included in the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI), will commence this year.          "Last year, the project had been included in the budget. But, it was with a 'star' mark priority. When it was due to be implemented, it was already September-October, so we aborted the plan. We are so sorry for that. Yet, we have set aside conditions that the budget for it in 2014 will be increased," the minister remarked while attending the 57th anniversary celebrations of the Jambi Province, early last month.          The minister explained that Jambi so far actually has 14 small or local ports. This implies that Jambi yet does not have a main seaport. Therefore, the Ujung Jabung seaport is expected to become the main seaport in the province.          The minister emphasized that the Ujung Jabung seaport will have three piers: one for handling passengers and cargo, one for crude palm oil (CPO), and one for coal.         According to Haviz Husaini, the local government had disbursed Rp30 billion from its budget in 2013 for land clearance and the construction of a 138-km long access road between the Muarojambi District and the Ujung Jabung seaport. This year, the regional government will carry out land clearance and will be allocated Rp30 billion from the state budget.          He stated that the construction of the Ujung Jabung seaport is a project that will have three sections for handling CPO, coal, and passengers/cargo. The construction of the pier to handle CPO will be given top priority as it is urgent.          "The CPO port will get an allocation of Rp80 billion from the state budget and the construction work will commence in April. It will be allocated a 4.2 thousand hectare plot of land from the East Tanjung Jabung District government," Haviz pointed out.          He claimed that if the construction process can progress in a speedy manner, we can ask for additional state budget in June or July, this year.          Director General of Public Administration of the Ministry of Home Affairs Agung Mulyana remarked that the construction of the CPO pier this year was the first step before the construction of other piers, such as that for coal. Thus, it will eventually develop into a full scale ocean-going seaport.          He hoped that the Ujung Jabung seaport will help to boost the economic development in Jambi.          "The Ujung Jabung seaport project will have an extensive impact on Jambi's economy. Therefore, it has become a national priority project," Jambi Regional Government Secretary Syahrasaddin stated while receiving the director general on Friday.          Syahrasadin expressed hope that Director General Agung Mulya will help the Jambi province in realizing the project.          He added that the seaport project should be realized soon, so that it will contribute towards Jambi's economy.  Quoting a remark by State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, the regional government secretary noted that Jambi lays between two the big provinces of Riau and South Sumatra.  It is flanked by the two provinces.          Therefore, Jambi needs an ocean-going seaport to develop its economy. Syahrasadin explained that at a national development planning meeting held in 2013, the Ujung Jabung seaport had been set as a national priority project based on the assessment by the National Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).         "The Ujung Jabung seaport is ideal for the people and leaders of Jambi," he explained.          In the meantime, Director General Agung Mulya added that with the development of the seaport, the regional government and people of Jambi should be able to apply strategies and techniques to promote it into a major business and economic development center.         "Jambi must have a strategy in place, for instance, offering three or four development zones as centers of development. It should then decide which zone should be given top priority," the director general claimed.          The important thing is how to develop an integrated Ujung Jabung seaport comprising centers of education and health. With this model, the Ministry of Home Affairs can seek the assistance of the related ministries to allocate funds for the construction of the centers, he reported.     ***2*** (T.A014/INE/H-YH) EDITED BY INE (T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 17-02-2014 18:41: