GOVT BUILDS SEA CORRIDOR TO CUT FREIGHT COSTS

By Andi Abdusalam

Jakarta, Feb 10 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is building what it calls 'Pendulum Nusantara' (Archipelago Pendulum), a sea corridor linking six major seaports in the country from Papua in the eastern region to North Sumatra in the western parts.          The Pendulum Nusantara system is expected to reduce freight costs by at least 50 percent and to shorten cargo dwelling time at ports from about seven days to four days only.          This system will facilitate large tonnage ships to call at major ports to unload cargoes to be delivered by supporting smaller ships through an integrated system to smaller parts of the country or to smaller regions.          According to state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II, the system would also enable returning ships to have freights so that there would be no ships sailing back with vacant holds.     "The pendulum system is an effective solution to the problem of ships sailing with vacant holds from one port to another," PT Pelindo II President Director Richard J Lino was quoted by centroone.com online media as saying on Tuesday last week.          He said that the system will accommodate the arrivals of large tonnage ships at six major ports.  After they berthed at the ports, supporting smaller ships in the pendulum system would take their cargoes and delivered them to their destinations in the surrounding regions.