Regarding The Rules For The Flow Of Underwater Pipes, Luhut: We Want An Orderly Indonesia, Not Chaotic

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. (Photo: Doc. Setkab)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said that the government will rearrange the pipelines and submarine cables that have been chaotic or irregular.

This arrangement is officially regulated in the Decree of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Number 14 of 2021 for the pipeline and/or submarine cables to overcome the problem of overlapping submarine cable pipes.

"We have been working on this for almost two years and finally it was decided. I hope our country will be more disciplined. So don't be a victim of indiscipline. I ask that we can understand. We must be proud that Indonesia is orderly, not chaotic", said Luhut Pandjaitan in virtual socialization of the pipeline and cable pipeline policy, Monday, March 22.

Furthermore, Luhut said, so far, undersea pipes and cables that are not yet regular have made it difficult for the government to optimally utilize marine space. Especially for fishing vessel activities, shipping, upstream and downstream oil and gas activities, mining, and other activities.

"So we also don't play dumb which will end up harming our country", he said.

This submarine cable or pipeline arrangement, said Luhut, began in early 2020. At that time, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs formed a national team which was chaired directly by him and consisted of ministers and heads of implementing agencies consisting of echelon 1 across Ministries.

The team worked to formulate a pipeline and cable pipeline map consisting of 217 submarine cable segments and 43 submarine pipe segments. Inside there are also 209 pitch manholes and four landing stations (LS) of the international Submarine Cable Communication System (SKKL) covering the areas of Jayapura, Batam, Kupang, and Manado.

Luhut said his party wanted that after the flow map was formed, there would be no more overlapping cable or pipe networks and causing problems. Not only that, he hopes that in the future, the fiber optic cable connecting the islands will be stretched directly from Jakarta to the final point.

"So we have to agree that our fiber optic cable going to America or Australia goes straight to the destination, as well as Europe. We have to be an Indonesia Hub is a big country, we shouldn't stunt our country", he said.

On the same occasion, the Minister of KP Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said that the submarine cable is a strategic infrastructure that plays a role in national economic growth and becomes a contributor to revenue. Unfortunately, however, the pipeline and cable arrangement has not been in order, even in an orderly manner.

Therefore, he hopes that Ministerial Decree No. 14/2021 can be a reference to ensure the arrangement of pipelines and submarine cables in the national waters so that it becomes more orderly.

"In the future, all submarine cable and pipeline performance activities will be put in order and we will control it so that there will be no more chaos and overlapping utilization of marine space activities", he said.