Uncertainty Over Port Access

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Motor vehicles pack Jl. Sulawesi on Friday (13/7/2018) near Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta. Severe congestion in the area around the container port could potentially disrupt import-export activities.

Tonny Wijaya was astonished, but relieved. The traffic flow to the port in North Jakarta, last weekend, was smooth. Usually, access to the port on Saturdays and Sundays is hell for truck drivers, the backbone of logistics transportation in the country.

Traffic flow on Saturday (14/7/2018) was smooth since morning from Jalan Yos Sudarso to Jalan Jampea and up to Cilincing. Traffic began to form just before nightfall in Bogasari on an intersection of Jalan the Cakung-Cilincing road. It stretched for 1.5 kilometers, but it was not classified as a severe traffic jam.

Usually, severe congestion traps vehicles, mostly container trucks, between Friday and Saturday, from the Jampea intersection eastward.

Tonny, the trucking manager of PT Dunia Express Transindo (Dunex), could not believe the traffic flow was smooth toward the port, as access has not been properly managed, affecting the flow of imports and exports and impacting the economy.

Tonny said that on one Saturday night, last April, a Dunex truck driver arrived in a garage in Papanggo village, North Jakarta, after completing a round trip from Kalibaru Port, or New Priok Container Terminal One (NPCT1), North Jakarta. At that time, the demand for shipping was so high that the driver was ordered to make several trips to NPCT1.

That day, the driver burst into tears, begging not to drive again that night, even with the promise of a bonus. Apparently, the stress from the severe congestion degraded his mental state. It took eight hours to reach NPCT1, which is located only 9 kilometers from the Dunex garage. "Normally, travelling to the port takes 34 minutes to an hour, but when there is traffic jam it can be two to eight hours," said Tonny.

According to the vice chairman of public relations, research and technology at the Jakarta Executive Board of the Indonesian Truck Entrepreneurs Association (Aptrindo), Jimmy B. Ruslim, the main cause behind the severe congestion toward the port was the overcrowding of container trucks entering NPCT1. This happens because the service process in NPCT1 takes too long, especially at the entrance gate, where inter-state container carriers berth.

Not yet effective

On Friday (07/13/2018), a truck from a company delivering containers containing vehicle parts to be exported to Malaysia drove toward NPCT1. Trucks had to wait to enter the port gate at 8:50 a.m.

One truck driver, Suandi, 40, happened to see a fellow driver from the same garage waiting. "Actually, he left at about 7 a.m., when I had my breakfast," he said.

Suandi had to turn off the truck engine for about a minute so as not to waste diesel fuel. When he arrived at the gate to have officers inspect his documents at 9:11 a.m., the process was completed at 9:14 a.m. Three minutes to check the documents, according to Tonny, was quite long – he said it should take seconds.

The long service line at the NPCT1 gate could affect traffic flow on the highway. Suandi said that about two weeks ago, he was trapped in traffic 2.5 kilometers long while heading toward NPCT1. It stretched from the port to the Jampea intersection. He left the garage at 7:00 a.m., reaching the NPCT1 entrance gate at 11:00 a.m., and exited the port at 2:00 p.m., arriving back at the garage at 3:00 p.m. It took around eight hours for a single trip with a total distance of only 20 kilometers. "Since the port opened, if there is an order to transfer export goods, I ask where I have to go. If it is to NPCT1, gosh!" he said, tapping his forehead.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Container trucks, public minivans and private vehicles queue along Jl. Yos Sudarso on Wednesday (11/7/2018) near Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta.

If the traffic flow is smooth, within eight hours, he can complete three round trips to deliver goods from the garage to NPCT1. It means Suandi could lose income if there is a traffic jam.

Tonny and Suandi, and those engaged in import-export logistics shipping via NPCT1, face uncertainty every day. Moreover, many factors trigger traffic congestion.

Jimmy further said that the congestion is worsened by the high tolls. To go to Wiyoto Wiyono toll road toward Cawang, the rate for a truck of Group IV (four wheelbases) is Rp 37,500, and Group V (five wheelbases) Rp 45,000. Only about 2.5 km later, the driver must pay again to enter the Wiyoto Wiyono toll road through Kebon Bawang tollgate – it costs Rp 18,000 for Group IV and Rp 23,000 for Group V.

Another truck driver, Ade Riahi, 41, chose on Friday afternoon not to pass the West Koja tollgate on his way to Cawang. "Because there is no need to spend more," said the man from Subang.

As a result of avoiding the toll road, the ordinary roads were packed with trucks that day. The vehicles hardly moved along a 1.9-kilometer section from the Koja Regional General Hospital to the Jampea intersection and toward Jalan Yos Sudarso. The traffic was back to normal at the Kebon Bawang tollgate.

Complex causes

Another factor that contributes to congestion is that there are many container trucks that are parked on the shoulders of the roads because of limited space at the container depots in Cakung, Marunda and Cilincing; as well as at the overbrengen depot (a temporary container depot) near NPCT1.

Solving these problems is not simple and requires teamwork. The head of the North Jakarta division of transportation, Benhard Hutajulu said that in order to solve the congestion problem, national coordination was needed, with help from the Transportation Ministry, the Toll Road Regulatory Agency and port authorities.

Usually, inter-institution coordination involves lengthy processes. Indeed, uncertainty over port access still remains.

(E20)