RI Must Explore Batam's Potential As Trans Shipment Port

Jakarta, Oct 4 (Antara) - Trans-Pacific trade flows, particularly between China and European countries, have also encouraged Indonesia to explore opportunities for building land and sea transport infrastructures in Batam in the Riau Islands province that are geographically close to other ASEAN countries. "One of the important projects in the ASEAN `connectivity` plan is the construction of the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link or SKRL as Indonesia can manage the construction of a railway infrastructure network that connects Singapore and Jakarta to Surabaya," Ronald Apriliyanto Halim, a transportation and logistics researcher at the Technological University of Delft, the Netherlands, said on Friday. He explained that the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link or the SKRL project would connect Kunming city in the south western part of China with ASEAN countries, such as Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, with an alternative route through Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. "If the rail network in the Java and Sumatra Islands are connected with SKRL, then the transportation costs and time taken from Indonesia to China and other ASEAN countries can be significantly minimized," Halim pointed out. However, if there was no connection, then Indonesia would lose a lot of opportunities to play an active role in the transshipment market, particularly for the delivery of goods which are exported from China to European countries. This is because of the availability of rail transportation from China, which is connected directly to the port of Singapore, which was acting as China`s main business partner at the time. Halim asserted that in such a situation the construction of a railway line from Singapore to Batam was a strategic step, which could spell numerous economic benefits for Indonesia. Batam, which is located some 20 kilometers from the Singapore`s south coast, is a free trade zone that is a part of the Growth Triangle of Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore. "The construction must be negotiated by the Indonesian government under the ASEAN `connectivity` plan," Halim suggested. He added that efforts to make Batam a transit region in Trans-Pacific trade should be coupled with efforts to establish the island as an international port, which is able to provide accommodation for the logistics exported by China to European countries and America. These opportunities are more freely available as the capacity of the port of Singapore, which is currently 24,700 KTEU (kilo tons equivalent units), will face a serious challenge while trying to accommodate traffic congestion from 2017 onwards, considering the country`s limitations in terms of available land space. "Approximately, 90 MTEU (million equivalent units) will be passing through the Malacca Strait and Singapore by 2030. This is really an opportunity Indonesia should explore," Halim reiterated.