Costing IDR 2.9 Trillion, Jokowi Asks Pontianak Port Kijing Terminal To Strengthen Competitiveness And Connectivity

President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. (Photo: Screenshot of the Presidential Secretariat Youtube)

JAKARTA - The Kijing Terminal at the Port of Pontianak, Kalimantan Batat has just been inaugurated. Construction began in 2016 and cost IDR 2.9 trillion, making the port the largest on the island of Borneo.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked that the investment in port development which is not small in value is maximized to strengthen competitiveness and connectivity between ports and between countries.

“Earlier (I) asked the President Director of Pelindo how much, sir, this is a very big (port), Rp. 2.9 trillion. Do not let such a large investment cannot strengthen competitiveness and cannot improve connectivity between ports, islands and between countries, said Jokowi, at the inauguration quoted from the Presidential Secretariat YouTube, Tuesday, August 9.

Pontianak Port Kijing Terminal is a replacement for Dwikora Port. This is because the port is considered to already have a high capacity and is difficult to develop.

Jokowi said, Pontianak Port has a capacity of 500,000 tius and 8 million non-containers. "It's very big and this is the largest port on the island of Borneo," he said.

Jokowi believes that the presence of the Pontianak Port will strengthen the competitiveness of the superior products produced by the Province of West Kalimantan.

"Because here we have great strength of crude palm oil (CPO), alumina, bauxite and other products," he said.

To support mobility at the port terminal, Jokowi also requested that the port road to the city center of Pontianak, West Kalimantan be widened.

"I want the road to be widened from this port to Pontianak, the Minister of Public Works is here to finish it all. So that all container and non-container travel can be carried out smoothly and our ultimate goal of strengthening our competitiveness is truly what we can do," he said.