The Government Maximizes The Potential Of Fisheries In Eastern Indonesia By Preparing An Investment Of IDR 5 Trillion

Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said the potential for the fisheries sector, especially in the Eastern Indonesia region is very large.

Thus, there are many things that the government can do so that this potential can be truly exploited and make a big contribution to the economy and the welfare of the local community.

Based on this, the government views that there is a need to build a national fish barn in eastern Indonesia.

One of them is in Maluku Province as discussed by President Joko Widodo and related officials in a limited meeting on Monday, March 29, 2021.

"We see that to make a national fish storage center, there are not enough ports to be developed or used, but we need a port where the port (is) along with an industrial area", Budi said at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, Wednesday, March 31.

Later, the construction of the Ambon New Port in Ambon City, Maluku Province, which is integrated with the fish industrial area, is something that will be realized to achieve this goal.

The government will begin to carry out land acquisition, where the development will then be carried out with a government cooperation scheme with business entities and it is estimated that it will take approximately two years of development.

"The government will begin to acquire 200 hectares of land and prepare the basic infrastructure. After that the government will conduct a PPP auction (Government Cooperation with Business Entities) with an investment of approximately IDR 5 trillion, the initial stage is IDR 1.3 trillion”, he said.

Budi explained that in the future the integrated area will be developed up to 900 hectares, where the private sector, through the PPP scheme will acquire land for another 700 hectares.

In addition, while waiting for the completion of the Ambon New Port construction, the government will also function and optimize the two ports in Ambon City, namely Yos Sudarso Port and Nusantara fisheries (Perikanan Nusantara) as part of the restructuring of fishing calculation methods.

To note, on March 25, 2021, President Joko Widodo visited Ambon City to inspect the port and have a dialogue with fishing business actors. Based on conditions in the field, the President views that the development of the Ambon New Port is indeed very necessary to advance the fisheries sector in the Maluku region and its surroundings.