Head of BP BUMN Sets Target: Consolidation of Shipyards Under PT PAL Completed in Semester I

Head of the BUMN Regulation Agency Donny Oskaria/PHOTO: Teddy Kurniawan-VOI

JAKARTA - The government has begun to rearrange the "marine ecosystem" with a tougher business model, namely that fishing villages are built by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, while SOEs prepare markets, industries, and downstream chains.

The head of the BUMN Regulatory Agency, Donny Oskaria, said the scheme would be managed through Jaladri, with a focus on increasing the productivity of the fishing industry while holding foreign parties' dominance over marine wealth.

"This fishing village was built, but in terms of business we must prepare the off-taker," said Donny at the Presidential Palace complex, Thursday, February 12.

He emphasized that Jaladri not only works on the upstream, but also the downstream - the fisheries derivative industry - which he claimed would open up "very massive" employment.

The state-owned enterprise portion, according to Donny, is not building villages. His task is to prepare an ecosystem, namely from the shipping industry to the absorption of fishery products. He said the growth of the shipyard industry would be optimized, in line with the shipyard consolidation plan.

The target is set firmly. The shipyard consolidation will be placed under PT PAL and is guaranteed to be completed this year, even "the first semester is already complete". Donny implies the impact: the order for fishing boats increases, the need for labor increases, and more maritime engineering graduates will be absorbed.

"Most of our marine wealth is controlled by foreigners and so on," said Donny. Therefore, he emphasized the updating of the country's ability to manage its own marine resources as a source of economic benefits.

Regarding the form of consolidation, Donny did not specify whether it was in the form of a merger, acquisition, or operational integration. When asked about "merger", he only answered the location of "Surabaya" and then emphasized again that the fishing village was built by KKP, while Jaladri prepared support for its ecosystem.

The meeting at the Palace, said Donny, also touched on poverty eradication which was previously presented by BP Taskin Budiman Sudjatmiko. The red thread is clear, namely the economic orientation wants to be drawn to the "fundamental" and "grassroots". However, the public is now waiting for a performance measure that can be tested - how many fishing villages have entered the Jaladri ecosystem, who are the off-takers, and when the benefits are really felt in the fishermen's pockets.