Jokowi inaugurates seven ports, four boats in Toba Lake area

Jakarta, February 2 (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officiated seven ferry ports and four motorized passenger boats in the Ajibata Port Pier Area, Toba District, North Sumatra, on Wednesday. The head of state expects that the ferry ports and boats he inaugurated would assist Lake Toba's operation as one of the state's leading tourist destinations. "I expect that the operation of these ports and ships would support Lake Toba's position as one of the super-priority leading tourist destinations in Indonesia. Access to various places on Lake Toba (will be) easier, faster, and smoother," he noted as seen from the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel on Wednesday. He stated that the ferry port and boats were vital to facilitate daily activities of people around Lake Toba, such as going to and from a port as well as interconnectivity among the sub-districts or districts. Hence, to meet their needs, the government, through the Transportation Ministry, has built a total of 13 ferry ports over seven districts. The seven ports inaugurated by Jokowi on Monday were the Ajibata and Balige Ports in Toba District, Tiga Ras Port in Simalungun District, Simanindo Port in Samosir District, Marbun Toruan/Baktiraja Port in Humbang Hasundutan District, Muara Port in North Tapanuli District, and Tongging Harbor in Karo District. The four boats he inaugurated on the occasion were Pora-Pora, Caldera Toba, Asa-asa Water Bus, and Jurung-Jurung Water Bus. The president's entourage include Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi, Head of Toba District Poltak Sitorus, and Head of Simalungun District Radiapoh Hasiholan Sinaga.