Jokowi Surprised That The Wae Kelambu Terminal In East Nusa Tenggara Is Very Large: We Can Use This For 20 Years

President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. (Photo: Doc. Setkab)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the Wae Kelambu Multipurpose Terminal at Labuan Bajo Port in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) today. Jokowi admitted that he did not expect the port to be so large.

Initially, Jokowi said that he thought that the port would be of the same size as the previously established Labuan Bajo Port. However, in fact, this port is larger.

"I can't imagine that this new port is very big. It's not like I thought it was like the old one, just shifted here. It turned out to be a big port," he said at the Wae Kelambu Multipurpose Terminal, East Nusa Tenggara, Thursday, October 14.

Jokowi admitted that apart from supporting logistics in eastern Indonesia, the construction of the Wae Kelambu Port was based on the fact that the government wanted the old Labuan Bajo port to support tourism in the area.

"Regarding this Wae Kelambu Port, we really want the old port to be clean. Because it is a tourist area and area. So we move it here," he explained.

He hopes that the port can be used for a long period of time, which is up to 15 to 20 years. The port is the first logistics port owned by East Nusa Tenggara Province.

"We hope that we can use this in the next 15 or 20 years, it will still be visible for the transportation of goods in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, especially in West Manggarai Regency," he explained.

In addition, the former Mayor of Solo also appreciated the ministers who had completed the construction of the port in a short time.

"I really appreciate it being done quickly in August 2020 starting, then today we can finish it, thank God," he said.

On the same occasion, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said the port was built according to the direction of President Jokowi. Previously, Jokowi asked the container port in Labuan Bajo to be moved.

As is known, Labuan Bajo remains a super-priority tourist destination. Therefore, it is necessary to make improvements. The improvements made were by separating the Labuan Bajo Port, which previously was still mixed between passenger ship services and logistics activities.

"We carry it out simultaneously, in collaboration with SOE, Pelindo to be precise," said Budi.