JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy said there had been an extraordinary surge in the number of passengers at Merak Port, Cilegon, Banten, which caused vehicles to pile up and lead to congestion.
"There has been an extraordinary surge in passengers. The increase in passengers is about 20 percent compared to 2019," said Muhadjir at Merak Port, Cilegon, Banten, Saturday, April 30, after conducting a review of passenger services at the pier, as reported by Antara.
To speed up the decomposition of travelers, Muhadjir said that all parties, including the police and PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, had taken various methods. As has been done, the Cilegon Police has deployed around 1,000 personnel to regulate the traffic of travelers from up to the Merak Port.
ASDP has implemented a policy of increasing the number of ferry boats and as much as possible speeding up the loading and unloading process.
"Even from Bakauheni Port (Lampung Selatan-ed), there are ships that go to Merak Port without carrying passengers. The ratio is 6:4 or 7:3, so there are six ships going to Bakauheni and three coming from there," said the Minister of Education and Culture. Indonesia for the 2016-2019 period.
Not only that, the Ministry of Transportation, called Muhadjir, has also prepared two additional ports to support the work of the Merak Port, namely the Indah Kiat Port and the Bojonegara Port.
The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also asked the travelers to remain calm and maintain security because the government ensures that all will be transported to Sumatra.
"Everything will definitely be transported. Therefore, I ask you to be patient to wait and maintain order. Don't be easily provoked because the atmosphere is definitely not conducive," said Muhadjir.
The volume of vehicles at Merak Port seems to have continued to increase since the evening of Friday, April 29, which is predicted to be the peak of the homecoming flow.
General Manager (GM) of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Merak branch Lutfi Pratama said that around 32,000 vehicles entered Merak Port within 24 hours from Friday 29 April to Saturday 30 April early in the morning.
"That is higher than in 2019 at the same time, which is in the range of 20 thousand vehicles. We from ASDP of course always try to give the best," said Lutfi.
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