PEOPLE AWAIT REALIZATION OF MARITIME 'TOLL ROAD'

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 14 (Antara) - The people, particularly businesspeople, are awaiting the realization of a maritime supercorridor transportation system that will link thousands of Indonesian islands from the eastern to the Western regions, cutting freight costs up to 50 percent.          The concept of the maritime supercorridor has been prepared by the current government in what it calls 'Pendulum Nusantara' (Archipelago Pendulum) program where large tonnage ships with cargoes or passengers serve main sea lanes and call at six major seaports located in areas stretching from the eastern to western parts of the country.          The government hopes the sea corridor will help smooth the implementation of the national connectivity program as regulated in Presidential Instruction No. 26/2013 on National Logistics System.          In a recent presidential debate, presidential candidate Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, revealed his program on the sea transportation system, which he called 'Maritime Toll Road' scheme, a sea lane transportation system which is more or less the same as the  'Pendulum Nusantara' concept.          Therefore, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) supported the idea of Jokowi to follow up the sea lane development program, as the current maritime-based national connectivity scheme designed to boost economic development and growth has yet to be implemented.