A number of pilot projects to implement ASEAN Connectivity will be
implemented in Batam, Riau Islands, including ferry and flight routes to a
number of ASEAN countries.
The Batam Free Trade Zone
Management Board chief, Mustofa Wijaya, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that
Batam was geographically located close to three ASEAN member states.
He said that movements of
people and goods from Batam to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand had been going
on for quite some time, the area being well supported with sufficient
transportation facilities.
Currently, for example, there
are five passenger ferry terminals linking Batam with Malaysia and Singapore
serving some 5,000 passengers per day.
“Infrastructure in Batam is
ready to support ASEAN Connectivity. Its close location to three ASEAN
countries has made connectivity no longer a new thing,” Mustofa said.
He said among the projects to
support ASEAN Connectivity was the opening of Roll-On Roll-Off (Ro Ro) ferries
linking Batam with Malaysia and Singapore. The feasibility study for the
project would soon be carried out with operations slated for 2015.
Singapore is located some 20
kilometers northwest of Batam and can be reached from any of the passenger
ferry terminals within 45 minutes. Meanwhile, the Stulang Laut terminal in the
Malaysian state of Johor is reachable in one-and-a-half hours.
“For flights, Batam has been
linked with Kuala Lumpur by a Malaysian airline for the past two years,”
Mustofa said.
“We are also encouraging other
flights to link Batam to other ASEAN states, such as the Philippines and
Thailand, which have economic potential but depend on Singapore for air
transportation.”
He added that his agency would
invite domestic airlines as well as those from the destination countries to
seek these opportunities.
Earlier, Indonesia’s permanent
representative to ASEAN, Ngurah Swajaya, said a feasibility study to develop an
ASEAN Ro Ro capability had been carried out with a route linking Davao in the
Philippines with Bitung, North Sulawesi.
Further developments would see
the opening of Ro Ro routes from Bitung to Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and
Thailand, Ngurah said during a visit to Batam from June 27 to 29.
He added that ASEAN
Connectivity needed a yearly investment of some US$50 billion coming from a
public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
“China, the European Union,
Japan and the United States have stated their interest in financing the drive
because ASEAN will become a single market to support the creation of the ASEAN
Community,” he said.
Fadli
The Jakarta Post
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