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New RORO Service to Boost ASEAN Trade
On 30 April 2017, the
Indonesian and Philippine governments launched a new Roll On-Roll Off (RORO) service linking Davao and General Santos Cities in the Philippines to Bitung in Indonesia.
The Indonesian President, Mr.Joko Widodo, and the Philippine President, Mr.Rodrigo Duterte, attended the launch ceremony.
The weekly RORO connection between Indonesia and the Philippines is considerably faster than the traditional Manila-Jakarta route, reducing journey time from between 3 to 5 weeks to 1.5 days. The new route is expected to improve business and create new opportunities for people in both countries, as well as for the populations of Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, the other two East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) countries.
MV Super Shuttle RORO 12 has a capacity equivalent to 500 20-foot units and is expected to carry high value crops such as mature coconut and copra, as well as exported animal feeds, fertilizer and halal poultry.
With the potentail for transshipment, business in the region is expected to increase by about 10%.
The Indonesian Minister of Transportation said that preparations are underway for new ferry routes in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam. They include the following crossings: Dumai (Riau) – Melacca (Malaysia) – Belawan (North Sumatera)
– Penang (Malaysia) – Phuket (Thailand) – Zamboanga (Philippine) – Sandakan
(Malaysia), Zamboanga-Brunei Darussalam, and Labuan (Malaysia) – Singapore.
Information provided by Budd Indonesia
budd.indonesia@budd-pni.com