Demo Truck Drivers At Tanjung Priok Port, Complain About Congestion To Thugs

JAKARTA - Hundreds of truck drivers who are members of the Indonesian Family-Sopir Indonesia (KBSI) held a demonstration in front of the New Priok Container Terminal One (NPCT1), Jalan Terminal Kalibaru Raya, North Jakarta.

They protested the impact of congestion and thuggery that occurred as a result of the PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) policy in implementing access to loading and unloading containers to ports.

"To enter the NPCT Terminal, container trucks must go through two gates, namely the NPCT1 gate common area and gate. This causes queues, ineffective services and additional costs," said KB-SI representative, Ilhamsyah, in his statement, Tuesday, February 11.

According to Ilhamsyah, the impact of congestion was also exacerbated by the implementation of the Hico policy at several terminals which caused the delay in loading service time.

In addition, operational inefficiencies, slow loading and unloading processes, ineffective queue systems, as well as a lack of coordination between port authorities and logistics companies have also increased the impact of congestion.

He emphasized that this problem not only had an impact on national logistics efficiency, but also had significant losses for truck drivers, logistics companies, and the economy in general.

"The truck driver must face a long waiting time, the risk of fatigue, increased operational costs, and psychological pressure due to the difficult delivery target," he said.

Not to mention, due to the long traffic jam of logistics vehicles, thuggery often appears asking for money and valuables from truck drivers.

"Even don't hesitate if the driver doesn't give it, the thugs will rob the valuables in the car," said Ilhamsyah.

He emphasized that Tanjung Priok Port is the busiest port in Indonesia. The high volume of goods passing through this port demands efficiency in operational management and supporting infrastructure.

However, Ilhamsyah assessed that there was no significant solution to this problem, because traffic regulation had not been effective until the management of entry access to loading and unloading at the port still caused traffic jams.