Erick Thohir - Jokowi Ready To Give A Special Gift For Pelindo Today

SOE Minister, Erick Thohir together with the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). (Photo: Instagram @erickthohir)

JAKARTA - SOE Minister Erick Thohir hopes that Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) can sign a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on the merger of Pelindo this Friday.

"Today, God willing, this is special for Pelindo, today is the day the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo should sign the Presidential Regulation on the merger of Pelindo," said Erick Thohir while giving an open public lecture at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Banten, quoted from Antara, Friday, October 1.

According to the Minister of SOEs, currently, logistics costs in Indonesia are still much more expensive, namely 24 percent of many countries in the world, where the average logistics cost is only 11 percent.

"We hope that with the merger of Pelindo as a large maritime country, we will also re-balance our market with the infrastructure that Pelindo has and we will continue to strive to reduce logistics costs," Erick said.

Erick also added that his party only learned that after Pelindo was combined, it turned out that Indonesia's container was the 8th largest in the world.

"So we can, but like it or not, we make sure that the transformation is concrete, not just a discourse. And if we continue to explore there are lots of assets that are very useful for us. The core business in SOEs now must be a certainty rather than the transformation in SOEs, " said Erick Thohir.

Previously, the Government immediately realized the merger or merger of four-port sector SOEs, namely PT Pelindo I-IV Company on October 1, 2021.

In this merger, PT Pelindo II will act as the surviving entity or the company receiving the merger. After the merger, the name of the merged company became PT Pelabuhan Indonesia or Pelindo.

The merger of SOEs in the port sector is considered the right and relevant step to adapt to the increasingly rapid industrial progress along with advances in technology and information. As a port operator company that has a major role in maintaining the logistics distribution chain and has implications for the country's economic progress, a breakthrough is needed through the integration of port SOEs.

Until now, the Government Regulation on the Merger of SOEs in the port sector is still in the process of being issued. Then it will be effective after the signing of the Deed of Merger. The integration plan has also received full support from various groups, including the Workers' Unions throughout Pelindo.