Coordinating Ministry For Marves: Patimban Port Starts Operating In December 2020, Ready To Help Local Fishermen

Building for the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment. (Angga Nugraha / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government through Acting Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) Ayodhia GL. Kalake stated that Patimban Port, Subang, West Java, which is a National Strategic Project (PSN), is scheduled to start operating in December 2020. This was revealed in a Coordination Meeting (Rakor) related to Patimban Port Development, held virtually recently.

"The second largest port after Tanjung Priok Port is ready to connect various productive areas in Subang, Indramayu, Cirebon, Brebes, and surrounding areas. We continue to synergize and coordinate with other ministries / agencies and stakeholders to finalize the development of the Patimban Port," he said in a written statement, quoted Tuesday 13 October.

Marves Rusli Rahim, Assistant Deputy for Connectivity Infrastructure at the Coordinating Ministry for Agriculture, added that he hopes that the remaining two months of time can be used to synergize various ministries / agencies.

"Thus, Patimban Port can be operated as planned," he added.

Regarding the issue of empowering fishermen who are affected by the construction of the port, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries needs to work together with the Class II Patimban Port Authority and Harbormaster Office (KSOP). In this case, the representative of the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries at KKP Gunaryo explained,

"We have discussed with about 100 fishermen at the two fishing landing sites (TPI) of Genteng and Terungtum. We are also ready to help fishermen, both in the form of procurement of ships and fishing gear as well as capital. This is important because before the construction of the port, fishermen with boats below. 2. The Gross Tonnage (GT) can catch fish in the surrounding waters. As a result, they can bring in Rp1.5 million-Rp2 million per sailing day, "he said.

However, with the presence of port dredging activities, fishermen's income has decreased dramatically, only around Rp. 300,000-500,000 per sail day. Now the fishermen have to sail farther and need bigger boats.

"Not only assistance with larger vessels and their fishing gear, fishermen also need training on how to operate vessels and their fishing gear. We are ready to help fishermen, including their capital. And fishermen are also very interested in the assistance scheme (capital) that we offer," he added. .

The Head of KSOP Patimban Anwar added, the number of fishermen in 4 TPI (Terungtum, Genteng, Laian, and Ujunggebang) who were affected by the Patimban development reached 1,530 people.

"They need the assistance of about 648 fishing vessels with a capacity of 8-10 GT," he said.

Furthermore, KSOP Patimban in collaboration with JICA has conducted a number of trainings for the community around the project site, such as: loading and unloading training, culinary, operation of 10 GT fishing boats, security , cleaning service , and others.

Regarding the plan to operate Patimban Port, representatives of the Industrial Estate Association (HKI) really appreciate this. Some things that IPR has hoped for include road connectivity and access to international standards, as well as the availability of adequate hardware and software at the port.