REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Government of Indonesia should build a number of international ports in major islands as sea freight transportation facilities to encourage exports in various areas, an expert has said.

"Thus, export related formalities for these products can be immediately processed and products can be sent directly to various parts of the world," Melda Kamil Ariadno, Professor of International Law, University of Indonesia, said here on Saturday.

Ariadno pointed out that the international ports should be built in western parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, Southern Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara, Northern Sulawesi and Papua, as well as Eastern Kalimantan.

Ariadno stated that Indonesia should no longer send the products first to Singapore before these are shipped elsewhere.

"As of today, Indonesia is merely being a feeder for Singapore," Ariadno said.

Ariadno remarked that Indonesia should develop all areas and should not focus on expanding just the Java island.

"The government should develop the eastern parts of the country. As a result, it will create a sea trade route and will help bring down the prices of basic commodities," Ariadno said.

To support the world maritime axis, Indonesia should secure its maritime region in international shipping.

"The large number of armed pirates in the Indonesian waters has affected the insurance cost of goods transported from and to Indonesia. It makes the goods expensive," he said.

Earlier, the Transportation Ministry's Sea Transportation Directorate General said it will build 188 ships to support the sea toll project in accordance with the government's maritime axis program.

The ship building plan would be financed through multi-year funding from 2015 to 2017, Sea Transportation Director General Bobby R. Mamahit stated at a press conference here, recently.

"This is the largest ship building plan that we have ever had, and it is expected to be completed in 2017," he affirmed.

Investment worth Rp11.8 trillion -- Rp3.3 trillion in 2015, Rp4.4 trillion in 2016 and Rp4.1 trillion in 2017 -- will be required to build the 188 ships.

To secure Indonesia's maritime territory, the government plans to build 25 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV), five Marine Disaster Prevention Ships (MDPS), two second-class patrol boats, six third-class aluminium patrol boats, 10 fourth-class patrol boats, and 25 fifth-class patrol boats.

For sea transportation, it will build two 500 dead weight tons (dwt) vessels, two 200 dwt vessels, 25 units of two thousand gross tonnage (gt) ships, 20 units of 1.2 thousand gt ships, 11 units of 750 dwt ships, 15 micro-containers of 100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 20 ferries, and five cattle boats.

There are also plans to build 15 boats for conducting navigational activities.

These ships will be procured through a tender process, expected to be concluded in October this year.

The ministry has issued a circular letter on the ship building criteria, covering relevant documentation and organizational legalities, manpower, technology, funding, and safety and operational management, among others.

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