Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta, the biggest port in Indonesia
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. Hence, It has many seaports. Ports in Indonesia are scattered from Sabang to Merauke. These ports are the main routes for global supply chains, national logistics centers, and gateways for exports and imports. Let’s learn about those ports to understand their vital roles in supporting Indonesia’s trade, logistics, and economic growth.
Ports in Indonesia, Gateways to Global Trade
Indonesia has hundreds of commercial ports. They are managed by various entities, including state-owned port companies Pelindo II and Pelindo III. The following are the main ports in Indonesia.
Belawan Port
This port is located on the east coast of North Sumatra, near the city of Medan. It serves as the gateway for the export and import of commodities such as coffee, rubber, sawit palm, and forest products for western Indonesia.
Belawan Port also has a modern container terminal, the Belawan International Container Terminal (BICT). This terminal is the main hub for shipping routes to the Middle East and South Asia. Belawan Port has been operating since the Dutch colonial era and is the busiest port outside of Java.
Bitung Port
Bitung Port is located in the city of Bitung, near Manado. The main function of this port is to export marine products such as shrimp, skipjack tuna, and tuna, as well as to serve as a logistics center for eastern Indonesia. Belitung Port is an international hub port on the ASEAN-China Pacific shipping route. The government is encouraging this port to become an international transshipment port in the future.
Makassar Port
This port is located in the city of Makassar, precisely on the southwest coast of Sulawesi Island. Makassar Port is the largest passenger and container port in eastern Indonesia. This port is famous as the Port of the Eastern Veranda because it connects eastern Indonesia with industrial centers in Java. Its dock area covers more than 150 hectares, with a loading and unloading volume of millions of tons per year.
Benoa Port
Benoa Port is located south of Denpasar City, close to the Nusa Dua tourist area. This port is a tourist and cargo port, serving cruise ships, fishing boats, and logistics ships. Benoa Port is the home port for international cruise ships.
Panjang Port
Panjang Port is located in Lampung Bay, at the southern tip of Sumatra Island. This port is used for the export of Lampung’s agricultural products, such as palm oil, coffee, and rubber. Panjang Port is close to the Sunda Strait international shipping lane, making it a strategic point for the distribution of goods from Sumatra to Java.
Teluk Bayur Port
This port is located in Padang City, on the west coast of Sumatra. Its main function is as a port for the export of cement, coal, and agricultural products. This port is one of the oldest ports in Indonesia.
Balikpapan Port
It is located in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan. This port is a logistics center for the oil and gas industry, as well as construction materials for the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) project. Balikpapan Port is an important gateway to the eastern part of Kalimantan.
Pontianak Port
This port is located on the banks of the Kapuas River in Pontianak. It functions as a river and sea port serving containers, cargo ships, and passengers.
Kupang Port
This port is located in the city of Kupang, Timor Island. It functions as the main logistics and passenger ship route for the East Nusa Tenggara region.
Sorong Port
It is located in the city of Sorong, Southwest Papua. It functions as a port for exporting Papua’s natural resources, especially oil and natural gas.
Tanjung Priok Port
Located in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. It is the largest port in Indonesia. Its water area covers 6.04 km², while its land area covers approximately 4.24 km². Thus, its total area is approximately 1,028 hectares (10.28 km²).
Tanjung Priok Port handles more than 50% of Indonesia’s total transshipment cargo flow. All export and import activities of finished products, raw materials, containers, and transshipments to and from Indonesia go through this port.
Tanjung Perak Port
Located in Surabaya. In 2018, 3.8 million TEUs passed through its terminal. Tanjung Perak Port serves eastern Indonesia. Large generation ships can dock at this port.
Why are Ports so Important in Indonesia?
Because Indonesia consists of thousands of islands, maritime activities are the backbone of its logistics. In Indonesia, ports are not only for inter-country commodities, but also for inter-island distribution.
Currently, ports in Indonesia face the following challenges.
- Lagging capacity and infrastructure. One example is Tanjung Priok Port, which is still undergoing expansion so that it can serve the largest generation of ships.
- Internal connectivity. These ports require the support of toll roads, railways, and land logistics facilities so that goods can be quickly distributed to and from the ports.
- Distribution to areas outside Java is still not optimal, so logistics costs in Indonesia are still categorized as high by global standards.
Ports in Indonesia with their scattered locations, are not only points of loading and unloading goods. These ports are the heart of national logistics and the gateway to the global economy. This certainly presents a great opportunity for the future of logistics in Indonesia.
For anyone involved in export-import or inter-island distribution of goods, connections through major ports are the key to success.