Our task is to make Indonesia a strong and independent maritime country. For this reason, synergy is needed in order to formulate policies and concrete steps for the development of the transportation sector and adequate marine infrastructure
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said the shipping industry played a role in realizing Indonesia as the world's maritime axis, as stated by President Joko Widodo.
“Our task is to make Indonesia a strong and independent maritime country. For this reason, synergy is needed in order to formulate policies and concrete steps for the development of the transportation sector and adequate marine infrastructure," said the Minister of Industry in a statement in Jakarta, Wednesday.
The Minister of Industry conveyed this at the Inauguration of the General Chair and Management of the Central Executive Board (DPP) of the Indonesian Shipbuilding and Offshore Facility (IPERINDO) for the 2022-2026 Period.
As one of the largest archipelagic countries in the world, Indonesia has the potential as a strong maritime country. With around 17,500 islands and a coastline of 81,000 kilometers, the Indonesian government places the shipping industry as one of the priority industrial sectors to be developed.
President Jokowi himself has introduced Indonesia's policy as the World Maritime Axis which is embodied in five main pillars. One of the pillars is the commitment to build maritime infrastructure and connectivity by building sea toll roads, sea ports, logistics and shipping industry, as well as marine tourism.
The Minister of Industry said that so far the shipping industry has a strategic role in supporting the national economy because the industry has the characteristics of being a labor-intensive, capital-intensive and technology-intensive sector.
"In addition, the shipping industry sector has a long backward and forward linkage," he said.
Based on the calculation of input-output in 2021, transactions for goods and services in the ship sector and repair services will reach IDR 27.65 trillion, with the three main sectors being inputs are the ship and repair service sector (29 percent), trade other than cars and motorcycles (19 percent). ), and other metal goods (6 percent).
"Meanwhile, the distribution of output to the three largest sectors is ships and their repair services (56 percent), sea transportation services (16 percent), and river and lake transportation services and crossings (11 percent)," said Agus.
Currently, Indonesia has more than 250 shipyards spread from Sabang to Merauke, and 127 supporting industries that produce raw materials and components according to marine use standards.
"Indonesian shipyards have experience in building various types of ships, ranging from passenger ships, cargo ships, to special purpose ships with the largest graving dock facility, namely 300,000 Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT)," said the Minister of Industry.
Throughout 2019-2021, there have been 473 vessels built domestically with the largest proportion being Barge (274 units) and Tug (100 units). Furthermore, for the period of January-August 2022, there have been 363 applications for new shipbuilding in domestic shipyards.
"This figure shows shipowners from ministries and institutions, BUMN, and the private sector are increasingly trusting domestic shipyards to meet the needs of their fleet," said Agus.
However, as an effort to develop the domestic shipping industry that is globally competitive, steps are needed to reduce imported raw materials and components, support competitive financing, and efficient shipbuilding procedures and stages.
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